The Cities Trailblazing Transit Service into the Wilderness

Tourism to National Parks throughout the U.S. has a diversity issue. Although this stems from various foundations, one area the park service has focused their attention is in transportation. From buses to trolleys to boats and ferries, parks across the nation are ramping up efforts to help get a more diverse crowd into nature.

As part of a collaboration between Zion National Park and the nearby town of Springdale, shuttle buses were introduced to limit the amount of noise in the canyon and deal with issues of over parking. However, those shuttles have now reached the end of their lifespan and threaten to disrupt the flow of tourists into the park. Efforts to replace the buses with an electric fleet, that could also reduce carbon emissions, have hit roadblocks as they’ve been denied federal funding.

In 2014, Dunkirk, France, launched a four-year initiative to become the country's largest city with fare-free public transit. The city rebuilt its bus system with 150 vehicles serving 200,000 residents, redesigning routes, improving vehicle quality, repositioning stops, and implementing 10-minute service intervals. The approach included daily bus cleaning, same-day repairs, smartphone tracking apps, and a testing phase with free weekend travel before the full 2018 rollout. The initiative has increased bus ridership by 165%, with 10% of users abandoning their cars altogether.

Soar Experiences, a New York-based nonprofit, provides free guided outdoor tours for people with limited mobility using Trackchairs, rugged, battery-powered all-terrain wheelchairs that can traverse hiking trails. The program has recently expanded to 15 public hikes across New York and Connecticut, helping people living with disabilities connect with both nature and each other.

Father Joe’s Villages leads weekly cycling rides for people experiencing homelessness, and each ride brings participants closer to receiving a free bike of their own from the organization. The program provides not only a vital mode of transportation for residents who struggle most to get around, but also opportunities to build community and take advantage of the health benefits of cycling.

Some German cities have created voucher programs that subsidize the cost of taking a taxi for women who feel unsafe walking or using public transit at night. In Cologne, 1,500 vouchers were used within days of their release, and Munich has more than tripled the number of vouchers it provides due to demand.

Shared electric cargo bike programs like CargoB and Re:Ciclos offer affordable, sustainable transportation alternatives that can significantly reduce urban car dependency; however, their long-term success hinges on overcoming infrastructure, cultural, and economic barriers.

OATS Transit has been helping people without a vehicle, driver’s license or other means of transportation to get around the region for more than 50 years at a subsidized rate. Despite funding challenges, OATS has grown into one of the country’s largest and longest-running rural transportation networks.

Kansas City is the largest U.S. city to adopt a zero-fare policy since its public bus system stopped charging riders in 2020. This policy change gives riders more financial flexibility and improves social and physical health outcomes as residents are walking more to get to bus stops and are also more connected to the community through increased access to transportation.

The government’s new mass transit system is making transportation cheaper and more accessible amid fare increases. With its fleet of buses and taxis, the Borno State Mass Transport System is strategically placing shuttle buses in areas with high commuter traffic, making affordable transportation more accessible.