When a city maintains a robust, interconnected transit network, it delivers massive financial relief by providing a reliable alternative to a car. Low fares and fare freezes make transit more affordable but if they are not properly funded, service reductions and severe overcrowding can be the tradeoffs.
For a late-night shift worker stranded at an unsheltered stop, saving a few cents on a fare may be of little consequence if the bus takes forty-five minutes to arrive or bypasses them entirely because it is packed to capacity. True affordability requires an unwavering commitment to stable, long-term funding to ensure the system remains both cheap enough to use and dependable enough to trust.
As mayor, I would ensure that measures to enhance affordability such as fare freezes do not come at the expense of reliability. This means, actively advocating for stable operating funding from other levels of government and working to find operational efficiencies within the existing system.