New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed to make cross-town Manhattan buses free, but not necessarily because he wants to give riders a financial leg up. He’s worried about how slow the buses are. The theory is that if riders don’t have to fumble around for their MetroCards, the buses could “speed” along through cross-town traffic.
Free rides would certainly be nice. But would the buses become so crowded, with people constantly getting off and on, thereby negating any of the time saved? I know if I was in Manhattan in August, I might occasionally hop on the bus just to get a blast of A/C.
Check out a Times story on the topic, and a New York mag discussion.
One thing I can guarantee: No NYC taxi driver is going to resort to “pay what you want” rates like one innovative, recession-sensitive service in Vermont is doing.