Going to disagree that just making it free will stop the death spiral. You need reliability before people can be enticed to trust it again, and it doesn't have that. It's no good as a service if it can't get you where you need to be on time, regardless of what you're paying for it.
Kansas City 90% said they rode more as a result of Zero Fare. 92% said they shop for food more often; 88% said they could see their healthcare providers; 82% said it allowed them to get or keep a job; 86% said they feel like city is concerned about their needs nextcity.org/urbanist-new...