Losing my sight made me see why free bus service in KC is so important

In recent weeks, I’ve done dozens of interviews about the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s new Zero Fare initiative to eliminate fares on local bus routes. The interviewers usually ask the same questions. But recently, one reporter asked me something that really took me off guard: He wanted to know if I would have the same passion to serve the people if I had never lost my eyesight.

When I lost my vision seven years ago, I was thrust into a new way of life. It was incredibly hard for me to do business across city, county and state lines. I had to learn to navigate multiple transit systems without my sight. I had to trust the coordination of four transit agencies to help me get around the region.

What I found was that our transit system was broken — fractured and difficult to use. So at KCATA, we decided to fix it. We became the regional transportation authority that we were intended to be when we were founded in 1965. We fixed our paratransit system, which offers individualized rides that aren’t on a fixed schedule or route. Now our customers who, like me, have “diversabilities” (you won’t find that word in the dictionary — yet) can get around the region with ease and dignity.

Every day, I wake up and I feel what it is like to have to depend on others. There are some tasks I just can’t accomplish on my own. Likewise, there are thousands of people who depend on the RideKC network of buses and streetcars to connect to opportunities every day. And there are employers who depend on RideKC to get their workers to warehouses and Fortune 500 companies throughout the region on time.

Even if you don’t use mass transit yourself, you depend on people every day who do. And yet $1.50 — the cost of a bus ride — often stands in the way of so many people connecting to employment, education and medical care opportunities. And it’s often through no fault of their own.

Last month, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and the City Council showed unprecedented leadership and a new level of support for public transportation by voting unanimously to direct the city manager to identify up to $8 million in the city budget to fund fare-free bus service. I’ve said it over and over: That $1.50 is worth more outside the fare box than it is inside the fare box.

But don’t take my word for it. Look at the research. An economic impact study was conducted by the Center for Economic Information at the Department of Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City that indicates between $15 and $17 million will be generated from the Zero Fare initiative. For those living paycheck to paycheck, as most Americans are, the cost of a monthly bus pass or cumulative single fares can make the difference in deciding which bills to pay. Tax revenue alone is expected to increase about $700,000 from the increased spending, and 100 jobs would be created.

So back to the reporter’s question. Would I be this passionate about using transit to help people in our community if I hadn’t lost my sight? The answer I gave the reporter was simple and honest: probably not. However, losing my sight opened my eyes to how people depend on transit for their everyday lives.

As Zero Fare transit looms on the horizon, we can all clearly see that the return on investment in social justice, compassion and empathy far outweigh the return on investment in concrete and asphalt.

This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Losing my sight made me see why free bus service in KC is so important."