While the program has its detractors, it appears that free bus passes have inundated Oregon public transit with student riders. All public students are eligible. WOW.
Although the crowding led one parent to state, “This is not how you build confidence in the next generation of transit riders,” I disagree. Certainly there are some kinks to work out with the new program (more buses or no more free passes), but getting adolescents on a bus, in a relatively safe environment, is EXACTLY what builds confidence to ride transit. Don’t ride the bus while you’re a kid, and you’ll probably crave a car for freedom and never look back. If you learn that riding the bus isn’t such a bad thing, well, you might even ride transit in a town like Los Angeles one day (me).
As Sec. of Transportation LaHood recently said about the benefits of livable communities, “if you don’t want an automobile, you don’t have to have one.” A program like this is a good start.
While there is no mention of this in the article, if so many kids are riding the bus now that it is free, couldn’t the transit agency stand to gain if it actually charged something?
