Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Town Marks 10 Years Of Fare Free Transit - Chapelboro.com

Town Marks 10 Years Of Fare Free Transit - Chapelboro.com: "On January 2, 2002, the transit system officially became fare free. Assistant Transit Director Brian Litchfield says Chapel Hill has one of the largest fare-free transit systems in the United States.

"Back in 2001, before we went fare free, we were doing about three million rides per year, this year we'll do a little over seven milion rides," he says. "That's about a 120, 130 percent increase in ridership over a 10 year period, which is amazing especially in a community of our size.""

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2 comments:

  1. wow! a town doing free rides everyday, all year? That is amazing. Wish Topeka had done that when I lived there. Likewise wish Austin did it now that I am here.
    My question though is, with all these transit systems struggling to stay in the black, how does this one do it with no fares?

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  2. Kevin, thanks for your question. The answer is simple. Transit actually saves money. The external costs of the auto-sprawl system are very high. Traffic congestion, pollution, export of gasoline money, oil wars, etc. etc. When you look at it like an economist instead of an accountant, it is a no-brainer.!!!

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