Free riders also say the buses could be running in two years, while Sound Transit's Link light-rail system won't operate until at least 2009. 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.