Yeah, I was hoping there might be some efficiencies if you just made the whole system free, like the KC model where you're not chasing down people not paying fares, ticket dispensing maintenance and repair costs, and then on top of that some of the intangibles like reduced cars on the road and accidents that need tending to, freeing up downtown parking, etc.. Obviously people still need to drive if the routes don't work out or time constraints don't make it possible. It seems like there are some resources that would be better utilized if less cars were on the roads, and money wasn't be spent on fare-related endeavors.
I still think it would be a good pilot project to see what kind of real adoption of public transit you would see if there was a free fare. Like maybe Free Fare Fridays / Weekends or something to gauge the uptake.
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