Posted on 08/23/2025 6:49:48 PM PDT by Libloather
Kansas City’s $50 million experiment with free bus fare is hitting the brakes — because the city can no longer afford it.
Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s socialist proposals — including free buses in the five boroughs and Soviet-style, city-owned grocery stores — are now 0-2 when tried elsewhere, after Kansas City’s own venture with a government-run grocery abruptly closed earlier this month.
The Midwest city used federal COVID-19 relief money in 2020 to become the first in the country to institute free buses.
But local funding dried up, and riders and conductors slammed the buses as unreliable, filthy, rolling homeless shelters, something critics say could easily happen in Gotham.
“If you go from charging a fare to not charging fare, ridership goes up, and you end up with degradation of service,” said Ken Girardin, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Mamdani, who’s made free bus service citywide is a centerpiece of his mayoral campaign, was behind a 2023 state pilot to bring one free bus route to each of the five boroughs.
He later co-wrote an editorial in The Nation, declaring that “continuing to make buses free in New York is more attainable than you might believe.”
The program “was his baby,” recalled Girardin.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Kansas City’s failure will mean nothing.
And that’s because every leftist lives by this rule:
“Next time it will be different.”
✊
They came up with a ride program (don't recall name) of city owned small vehicles that would take anyone from one point in town to another for $5. They use a app or can be called in to schedule a ride.
There are also dedicated wheel chair access vehicles.
Madmani’s dream communist state isn’t going to work here in the U.S. either.
Years ago, the Chicago Transit Authority reduced fares — not free, but cheap. A year or so later, they had a large revenue shortfall — almost exactly the amount that the reduced fares had cost them.
Live and learn — or not.
This is what happens when all the whites moved to Johnson county. Stupid ideas. KC has been the laboratory for socialist ideology. Don’t forget the MAGNET schools to a bunch of fools who can’t read or write.
And they keep voting for Cleaver for mayor.
Gutfeld recently said the ward with the most knife attacks is Ward Cleaver.
🚨🚨🚓🚓🚓🚑🚑
True, but look how blue JoCo is now. I was born and raised in Prairie Village and our mayor would love to be like Cleaver, not matter how failed he is.
““If you go from charging a fare to not charging fare, ridership goes up, and you end up with degradation of service,” said Ken Girardin, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.”
Well, who on earth could have predicted that?!
Yeah but it’s FREE.
Zohran will do communism right this time. All those other guys weren’t as sophisticated and educated.
Kansas City didn’t put sprinkles on the clean end of their socialist turd.
Pittsburgh had free subway in the downtown area. This was 1980’s-early 1990’s.
Otherwise you paid when you got on going into the city and paid when you got off going out of the city.
I think it worked because it was time-consuming to collect money.
Now Washington DC had those fare cards for the subway about that time.
Yes it’s been proved over and over socialism fails when you run out of other peoples money.
Most people don’t understand the meaning of free it’s when someone else pays for it.
We have an extensive bus system here that is free.
You can even call for a pick-up and they will come in an SUV to get you, or you can wave one down and if there is room they will pick you up.
https://parkcity.gov/departments/transit-bus
https://www.hvtutah.gov/
Already there even with charging for the ride. Chicago likewise.
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