State Senator Maragret Haugen, the bane of Sound Transit, apparently has a fare-free transit system in her own district:
At every level – inside staff, maintenance staff, operators, buses, solar-powered bus stops, and park and rides (every one of which includes covered bike parking), Island Transit’s system shines. The refreshing absence of advertising anywhere in the system definitely adds a large part to that shine, but ask anyone who works at or uses Island Transit why they support it so strongly and the overwhelming reason everyone gives is the simple fact that it is free to use.”
Truly, the Lord works in mysterious ways.
I knew it, used it a few times myself, and I believe it stayed Fare Free while their neighbor SKAT started charging was quickly going to the voters in the months after I-695 to boost their sales tax. I believe it is currently at .6%. It will be interesting to see if they keep it that way, Mason Transit charges on out of county routes(To Bremerton, Jefferson County, and Olympia), while LINK in Wenatchee went to fares pretty quickly as well.
As for Haugen, very interesting how she wants to force governance reform, while representing a county outside of Sound Transit. I saw something online about New Zealand, a Royal Commission(remember, they are a member of the British Commonwealth) coming up with recommendation for the amalgamation of the several cities within Auckland into a Super City, apparently, they don’t need a vote, and possibly not even parliamentary approval(the National Party if they support it has the votes to get it through). Although I support the way the elect officials in New Zealand(Mixed-Member Proportional for the National Government, Single-Transferable Vote for local councils), I am sure glad we don’t have a system where the government above them can impose such a sweeping change.