Some Lawrence officials say bus service should be free
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December 8, 2019
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Some Lawrence leaders say the city should consider eliminating bus fares in the wake of a drop in ridership.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that annual ridership dropped from 3.13 million trips in 2017 to 2.97 million in 2018, or by about 5.3%. Ridership is on pace to drop another 5.6% from 2018 to 2019.
That amounts to about 1,000 fewer trips for every day the bus operates. The city and the University of Kansas coordinate their bus service.
Transit officials provided several potential reasons for the drop in ridership, including low gas prices, weather and ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft.
Mayor Jennifer Ananda and Commissioner Lisa Larsen said they would like to consider making the Lawrence bus service free. Fares make up a relatively small percentage of funding for the city-run bus routes.
They also said they were open to all possibilities when it came to restructuring routes, including adding buses that only go up and down major thoroughfares.
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