It isn't the fare per se, it is that the fare presents a barrier...and
a easily defined and detected one at that. Rather than having to
depend on value judgement situations (talking too loud, rowdy,
distruptive, threatening, etc (all of these are also forms of
speech...as in `freedom of speech')). Quite honestly, if I am about to
refuse to board someone, I vastly prefer it to be a no-fare situation,
with the exception of Puddles, The Pooper and falling-down drunks.
Having more people riding makes it HARDER to detect and deal with
problems.
To make it possible for Muni to carry increased percentages of city
traffic, a few things need to happen: 1) Proof of Payment system wide,
with heavy enforcement; 2) (this goes along with the enforcement in 1))
Security on Vehicles...if the general public know that it is Safe to
ride without harassment, and the problems know that they will be
removed, ticketed and arrested for crimes (including quality fo life
crimes), then Muni can recapture ridership lost due to danger; 3)
Reliable Operation (duh!); 4) Seriously putting Transit First FIRST!
(this subject has been addressed on this space before, but...),
seriously affecting parking and auto traffic, and allowing signifigant
increases in the speed of operation of Muni (example: 22-Fillmore:
Sutter to Union, 8am Sunday-4 minutes, 4pm Weekday-10 minutes); 5)
Providing Capacity sufficient for the use of the Riding Public; and 6)
Patron Training.
Robert Parks
22-Fillmore