Do you ever ride public transportation where you live? Do you ever take public buses? Whether you ride them or not, would you say that the buses in your community are a good way to get around?
Do you think people in your area would ride buses more frequently if they were free? Or do you think eliminating fares might lead to other problems?
In the article “Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air.,” Cara Buckley writes about a successful mass transportation pilot program in the Midwestern city:
There was a psychiatrist, a librarian, a substitute teacher and a graduate student in biomedical engineering. There was an Amazon warehouse worker who’d just finished his night shift, and a man who’d lost his driver’s license because of an incident in Florida that he didn’t want to talk about.
They were all riding Iowa City’s buses one sunny November morning, and they were all amped about the same thing: That everyone got to ride for free.
Iowa City eliminated bus fares in August 2023 with a goal of lowering emissions from cars and encouraging people to take public transit. The two-year pilot program proved so popular that the City Council voted this summer to extend it another year, paying for it with a 1 percent increase in utility taxes and by doubling most public parking rates to $2 from $1.
Ridership has surpassed prepandemic levels by 18 percent. Bus drivers say they’re navigating less congested streets. People drove 1.8 million fewer miles on city streets, according to government calculations, and emissions dropped by 24,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. That’s the equivalent of taking 5,200 vehicles off the roads.
“You don’t have to figure out your bus pass. And before, it was $31 a month, which adds up,” said Vincent Hiser, 71, as he rode the No. 1 bus one recent Monday from his job at Bread Garden Market to the mobile home he shares with his 3-year-old Cavapoo, Ruby, and 13-year-old cat, Roy Rogers.
Free city buses are relatively rare in the United States. The idea has been getting a new look recently, after Zohran Mamdani won New York City’s mayoral race with a promise to make buses free. However, critics have described the plan as pie in the sky, and Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York recently voiced doubts.
Darian Nagle-Gamm, Iowa City’s transportation director, discusses the origins of the city’s free bus program:
Ms. Nagle-Gamm said the idea for the program began with a chat she and the city manager had in 2018 about a book titled “Free Public Transit: And Why We Don’t Pay to Ride in Elevators.” The city wanted to improve its transit system and increase its use while reducing household expenses. Also, as part of a climate action plan, Iowa City wanted to replace 55 percent of vehicle trips with sustainable alternatives like walking, biking and taking transit by 2050. Fare-free buses, officials decided, could help meet those goals.
In 2021, the city starting running more buses, streamlining routes and seriously considering waiving the $1 fares. In 2023, the City Council voted to pay for a two-year fare-free pilot with Covid-19 relief funds.
When the day came, the city threw a launch party. Artists decorated bus shelters with decals of butterflies, bees, wind turbines and flowers. Jazz bands were hired to play on downtown sidewalks. A booth was set up where people could write thank-you cards to bus drivers.
“You can make buses free, but it’s also important to make them convenient and appealing,” said Sarah Gardner, the city’s climate action coordinator. “We have 70-some years of marketing telling everyone that personal vehicles are great, and the ticket to freedom. Bus ridership doesn’t have that same kind of P.R. arm around it.”
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
-
Should buses be free? Why or why not?
-
Do you ride the buses in your town or city? Why or why not? If not, how do you typically get around? Are you happy with your current method of travel?
-
How much does a bus ride cost where you live? Does the price affect your decision to use the bus? Would a free fare make you more likely to take the bus? How about for your friends, family and neighbors?
-
What is your reaction to the article and to the Iowa City program that eliminated bus fares? Which of the reported social, economic or environmental benefits did you find most significant or surprising, and why?
-
The article notes that the Iowa City program was paid for by raising utility taxes and parking rates. Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, plans to fund the free bus program by taxing the wealthiest New Yorkers. Are these fair or sustainable ways to fund mass transportation? Why or why not?
-
Which arguments against free buses, if any, do you find most persuasive?
-
What other changes could be made to improve the transportation options in your town or city, including trains, buses, cars, walking or cycling?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
Jeremy Engle is an editor of The Learning Network who worked in teaching for more than 20 years before joining The Times.
The post Should Buses Be Free? appeared first on New York Times.
