I gather they'll be taking the fare boxes out of the older buses, too, as they get to them. In fact, (unofficial but from Someone Who Should Know) the tipping point in the whole argument, which has been in the air for awhile now, was that they can't get the current type of fare boxes anymore, or parts to fix them. Faced with spending millions to upgrade all the buses, they decided to dump the fares instead. Seems it was never that valuable a revenue source anyway.
The drivers are a bit concerned about problem passengers being able to just ride the buses all day, but it seems to me it'll also be easier to kick problems off the bus. Maybe that means just passing them around more, but they'd still be a briefer problem per bus, if you will.
Anyway, we'll find out. I of course hope it'll be wildly successful. It's not even really the money -- $2.50 for a day pass, $36 monthly isn't much of a budget-breaker. It's just a hassle to make sure you've got the right change and trying to guess how much you'll ride the bus next month. Free buses will make impulse trips and getting home in bad weather a lot easier.
So I'm encouraging everyone who supports this move to take the bus to downtown Olympia, where parking is such a problem, and go shopping. The buses will see more riders, and if the downtown businesses see an increase in sales, they'll know this is at least a partial solution to the infamous parking problem. I don't know, am I being too optimistic?
In any case it's a good excuse for a shopping spree, even if I'll only be buying postcards (check out Postcrossing for what I'll do with them). I do plan to go to Lily's to some point in the project, although I may not buy anything there. I love their stuff but I have to feel particularly flush to spend that kind of money (they're not that expensive, I just seldom buy new clothes). Maybe I'll go back in the summer when my power bill leaves me a little extra cash.
BTW, the bike racks on the new buses aren't as bad as they look. If you think ahead and open the hoop bit that goes over your front wheel before loading the bike (it goes all the way around and drops open), you don't even need to make the driver un-kneel the bus. It gives the impression that the bike could roll off backwards, but there's a brace behind the front wheel to prevent that. If you're used to the old racks, it takes a second look to notice it.
