Some Lawrence officials say bus service should be free

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Some Lawrence leaders say the city should consider eliminating bus fares in the wake of a drop in ridership.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that annual ridership dropped from 3.13 million trips in 2017 to 2.97 million in 2018, or by about 5.3%. Ridership is on pace to drop another 5.6% from 2018 to 2019.

That amounts to about 1,000 fewer trips for every day the bus operates. The city and the University of Kansas co-ordinate their bus service.

Transit officials provided several potential reasons for the drop in ridership, including low gas prices, weather and ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft.

Mayor Jennifer Ananda and Commissioner Lisa Larsen said they would like to consider making the Lawrence bus service free. Fares make up a relatively small percentage of funding for the city-run bus routes.

They also said they were open to all possibilities when it came to restructuring routes, including adding buses that only go up and down major thoroughfares.