“Our board made a decision very early on that if we could remove the barriers to use, more people would ride. They would frequent more businesses. They would spend more money… We think our ridership is 30% to 40% higher than it would have been with a fare, and it has totally changed the dynamic for how people view the system and its ease of use.”

On this episode of Comfort's Corner, part of the Transit Unplugged podcast, Tom Gerend, Executive Director at Kansas City Streetcar Authority, joins Paul Comfort to discuss KCSA’s recent $174 million grant from the federal government. Tom also chats about how zero-fare riding has benefitted their transit system, and his plans to launch the next generation of transit services in Kansas City.

If you want to know more about KCSA, check out their website.