[ A racial justice-focused community organizing group led the
charge for Albuquerque’s free bus fare policy.]
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THE TRANSIT EQUITY MOVEMENT WINS THEIR BIGGEST ZERO FARE VICTORY YET
 
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Liam Crisan
December 5, 2023
Inequality.org
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_ A racial justice-focused community organizing group led the charge
for Albuquerque’s free bus fare policy. _

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It’s happening: The city of Albuquerque is permanently eliminating
public bus fares, becoming the largest U.S. city to embrace this
critical step toward racial and economic equity.

A coalition headed by Together for Brothers
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power-building group led by and for young men of color — made the
victory possible.

In an interview with _Inequality.org_, the group’s Co-Founder and
Executive Director, Christopher Ramirez, explained that it all started
in 2017 when Together for Brothers applied for a Health Impact
Assessment grant.

“When we were applying for the grant, we had a couple sessions with
the young men of color we were working with,” Ramirez said. “We
were going through different issues, asking, ‘What are some of the
biggest problems and root causes in our community?’ Without a doubt,
in all the sessions, it was access to transportation.”

After a year of research, the group turned to crafting policy
solutions.

“During one of the strategy sessions, a high school student, Jacob,
said ‘Why don’t we just make public transportation free for
everybody?’” Ramirez recalled.

“We laughed. But by the next week, we realized he wasn’t joking.
By the end of the month, we decided to include it in our campaign.”

Ramirez, right, with Together for Brothers organizers.

 

First, the group pushed for a two-year “Zero Fare” pilot program
that proved highly successful. As ridership dwindled during the
pandemic, the city expanded free rides from a few routes to the entire
system.

Barely a year later, ridership was up 49.4 percent
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the program proved to be more cost-effective
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previously imagined.

Now, free fares are here to stay. In a landslide 6-3 vote
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November 8, the City Council made the “Zero Fare” program
permanent.

Fare-free pilots and policies have been gaining traction in various
other cities across the U.S., including Kansas City
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Missouri, and the Virginia cities of Richmond
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In fact, this past September, NYC’s Metropolitan Transit Authority
— which runs North America’s largest public transportation network
— announced that they are launching a fare-free pilot program of
their own.

The logic is simple: If most roads are toll-free, shouldn’t public
transit be fare-free too?

Labor unions and racial, economic, and environmental justice groups
have been driving this momentum. These advocates argue that transit
equity is a race and class equity issue — and Albuquerque bus rider
demographics substantiate that.

Most bus riders
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color, 74 percent are low-income, and 73 percent don’t have access
to a car. Before the “Zero Fare” pilot, 90 percent of riders
surveyed reported not being able to afford the fare at least once in
the past month.

“Zero Fares has helped me save and put my money on food, worrying
less about budgeting for my weekly commute is a big stress
reliever,” explained González
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lifelong bus rider who participated in a Together for Brothers survey.

Zero Fares is also popular with bus drivers.

“I want to implore you to do what you can to keep the free fare
program going,” wrote one long-time bus driver
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a survey by the city’s transit agency. “To eliminate it would
affect the most vulnerable in our beautiful city. To end it would put
the bus drivers in harm’s way as they are the ones on the front
lines, dealing with the frustrated folks that will take out their
frustration on the drivers and buses. Possibly on other passengers.”

Fare collection forces drivers to police passengers, which can lead to
tension. A national survey of transit agencies found that fare
enforcement is a factor in 67 percent of incidents
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which drivers are assaulted by passengers.

Eliminating fares can also reduce racial discrimination. When
Albuquerque rolled out free fares for students, Ramirez said young
Black men were often told they couldn’t ride the bus without paying
because they “looked too old to be in high school.” He told the
story of one Together for Brothers organizer, a high school senior who
was denied bus entry more than a dozen times.

Of course, the free fare initiative faced opposition from groups like
the National Taxpayers Union
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which fights to slash public services across the country. But those
who claimed the free fare program would be too costly lost all
credibility when a government analysis found that the initiative would
actually _save money_.

Despite charging $1 per ride, the average revenue per rider
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2014 and 2020 was only $0.34. Between 2019 and 2021, social service
agencies that purchased passes to distribute to low-income households
spent a total of $768,000 on passes. According to Ramirez, projections
showed the city spending as much as $1.75 million each year just to
administrate fare collection.

This means that, in the year prior to the Zero Fare pilot program,
fare revenue wasn’t even enough to cover the collection costs. When
these figures became public, it suddenly became clear as day that paid
fares were never a viable revenue strategy — they were a tax on the
poor.

Public transit investments create huge economic ripple effects. The
American Public Transportation Association estimates that every $1
invested generates $5 in economic returns
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Better funding and (crucially) more ridership means more jobs and
increased commercial activity.

By connecting people to medical, educational, professional, and
community-building resources, affordable and accessible public transit
changes lives.

The bottom line: ensuring mobility is a matter of economic and racial
equity and, when we do it right, everyone benefits.

What does Christopher Ramirez of Together for Brothers see as the key
lesson from the organizing behind the Albuquerque victory?

“Listen to the most impacted people in your community. It’s a game
changer.”

_Liam Crisan is a Next Leader at the Institute for Policy Studies. You
can follow him on Twitter @LiamCrisan._

_Inequality.org has been tracking inequality-related news and views
for nearly two decades. A project of the Institute for Policy Studies
since 2011, our site aims to provide information and insights for
readers ranging from educators and journalists to activists and policy
makers.  If you would like to support and help expand our work,
please consider making a donation. Thank you!  DONATE
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