DC Area County Eliminates Bus Fares

Montgomery County, Maryland just eliminated fares on its buses as part of an effort to increase transit access for low-income residents, report Dana Munro and Rachel Weiner in The Washington Post.

Close to half of Montgomery County bus riders earn less than $30,000 per year. “Montgomery’s new policy officially starts on Sunday, adding to an existing policy that allows passengers 18 and younger to ride free, though the county has already quietly stopped accepting fares from all bus riders in recent days.”

The county debated how to approach fares and transit funding for months before coming to a consensus. One factor that tipped the scales in favor of free fares: installing credit card tap mechanisms for fare collections on the system’s buses would have cost around $19 million — or roughly eight years of revenue.

“One major concern of the free buses, Larkin said, is that the lack of revenue coming in could justify the county disinvesting in the system, especially as Montgomery County deals with the economic impacts of the Trump administration’s massive federal spending cuts and job cuts.” But for now, residents who are saving money on fares see it as “a good gesture,” even if service frequency leaves something to be desired.