People running existing bus systems don't think it would work that way. It's about 40 miles north, on Whidbey and Camano islands, where Island Transit has been running free buses since 1987. Downtown Seattle has had free bus rides for more than 20 years, of course, but Island Transit is a different trip, showing how free rides can operate through an entire county. Kids ride it to school. Shoppers take it to supermarkets.
Commuters get off a ferry and get on a bus.
Many riders say the free buses have become an integral part of island life, as accepted as not having to pay to go to a park for a picnic. The islanders like it so much that in May they voted for a sales-tax increase to keep buses free and make up for losses caused by the passage of Initiative 695. I love it. I'm totally dependent on the bus. To Judy Brown, riding from Freeland to Coupeville, the bus allows her and her daughter to share a single 1995 Buick, avoiding buying a second car.