The simplest way is to do what my city (Missoula) did years ago and make the public transportation zero fare for everyone. No more tickets, no more swiping cards, no more concern over who "doesn't deserve" to ride a public resource. This succeeded so well they've even upgraded a number of their buses to be zero-emission as well.
Did it come with a tax increase? Was everyone happy about that? If it didn't come with a tax increase then what funding was cut for this public transport? It's easy to look at a success when you're only looking at the beneficial side, but don't look at the cost.
> It's easy to look at a success when you're only looking at the beneficial side, but don't look at the cost.
Which is why part of the "funding" for such systems comes from the reduction in the cost caused by private vehicles (on the roads, on the atmosphere, on the neighborhood and more).
