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And as our physical infrastructure increasingly breaks down—with late, crowded buses because high-wage professionals are working remotely and reducing the farebox revenue for transit authorities, with shortened business hours for stores as brick-and-mortar retail becomes less viable, with more dangerous streets—these workers pay the price.

“In bigger cities, you have a lot of people taking shorter trips, so the farebox recovery ratio tends to be higher” and more important budgetwise, he said.

Its farebox recovery ratio for light rail was 16% last year, versus 34% in 2019, well below its 40% target.

Fares currently account for 4% of the Clallam Transit’s operating costs — what transit planners call the system’s “farebox recovery ratio.”

A goal of 40% farebox recovery looks unattainable in the near future, as transit staff say they would not recommend the steep $5.75 rate that would be required.