Free Mountain Line

07/16/2025

Final update from me on our inspiring campaign that was snuffed out by the unlawful actions of Mountain Line, Flagstaff Police Department, and Coconino County Sheriff's Office Detention Center. On 3/26/2024, one month after I was unlawfully arrested and jailed, I was also kicked off the public sidewalk in front of Flagstaff City Government while then Chief of Police, Dan Musselman, watched from his parked car.

I want to explain why I have ended the campaign and give one thousand thanks to every individual and organization that supported our effort. I would be happy to hand the campaign off to anyone who is interested (8 mo left on website & domain subscription). Message if you want it. In short, I was dealing with too much trauma/PTSD from past attacks by strangers and loved ones to deal with being unlawfully arrested and jailed. I've been avoiding editing this video that that very reason. I also learned that the politics in this town is a "good ol' boys and girls club" who want you to jump through hoops in a top-down trajectory. I cannot physically be made to do that and would rather throw the campaign under a bus (pun intended). Please continue reading below for a timeline and reflections on the campaign.

Timeline:
Mar 2023 - Campaign launches
Apr 2023 - Mountain Line says they already plan to go fare-free
Jun-Jul 2023 - Mountain Line votes to not discuss fare-free for over two years
Aug 23-Mar 2025 - Mountain Line discusses fare-free privately/internally, but not publicly, despite its vote.
Feb 2024 - Mountain Line employee has Flagstaff Police officers unlawfully arrest and jail Free Mountain Line founder
Mar 2024 - Former City of Flagstaff Chief of Police, Dan Musselman, watches as our founder is kicked off the public sidewalk in front of City Hall
Apr 2025 - Mountain Line CEO says they decided to go with reduced fares instead of fare-free

Reflections:
I learned early on that Mountain Line and it's partners---Coconino County, Flagstaff City Government, Coconino Community College, and Northern Arizona University---did not feel obliged to listen to the public and skirted their public comment rules in favor of top-down agendas. I also learned that partners, such as Arizona Students' Association play both sides, using our partnership to try to extract plans about the campaign and IDing me to the multiple bus drivers who approached me in public with messages seemingly from their CEO, Heather Dalmolin.

I started this to help folks who live unsheltered in Flagstaff after learning that transportation is one of the biggest barriers to them accessing services. I can only imagine how these entities treat others based on how I was treated. And it's not pretty. I tried contacting lawyers to sue the police so I can avoid medical debt from therapy. Despite being excited at first, they stop taking my calls and don't communicate. I've passed some deadlines, which make it harder to pursue the lawsuit. I only had about twenty some odd days to file with the state after it being dismissed and now it has to be a federal case or something. I'm open to any help if you know a lawyer.

Thanks to our partners:

04/23/2024

Should we take a plea bargain or go to trial?

I am saddened to inform supporters that our beautiful and inspirational community campaign with riders has been hampered by Mountain Line Bus. I was trespassed from the Downtown Bus Connection Center and jailed overnight for asking people to sign the petition. I thought asking the people who used the bus made sense for this campaign, and I had done this exact same thing for nine months with no issue. One month later after my arrest, I was kicked off the public sidewalk in front of City Hall and all I had was a volunteer sign-in sheet for people attending the City Council meeting. I am very concerned that our rights are eroding in this town. We have a decision to make and I need your advice.

04/11/2024

Update on fare-free effort! has some fancy virtual transit survey that obviously cost way more money than its function. We will try to determine how much they paid for something they could have done in 10 minutes on a Google form. But they have not responded to the last four public records requests, so wish us (and public transparency) luck!

They did not include fare-free anywhere in the survey for their 10-year plan. They supposedly had the idea in their 5-year and 18-month plan (it was one bullet point option among a bunch of fare-paying models). They told me they were planning to survey last summer about fare free. Looks like all their taxpayer-funded planning was a waste. We are rightfully concerned that mountain line bus has received bad direction and we question it's veracity.

The survey does ask for input on using the transit tax to pay for electric buses. We provided a Mountain Line grant writer with a list of available grants for EV buses in a meeting months ago. And the person told us that funding for EVs was not an issue for electrifying the fleet.

We will have a very important legal update to provide regarding Mountain Line Bus soon that will further demonstrate the agency's failures.

01/26/2024

We were out and about in the community today signing folks up! Many thanks to the NAU Climate Action Committee and the Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance for an opportunity to share our efforts to ensure Mountain Line becomes fare-free!

Give them a follow for supporting us! Volunteer for (insta) if you're an NAU student or the Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance if you're not.

01/07/2024

Hitched a ride and checked out Denver's public transit which is running a zero-fare for youth pilot program! Primarily a mix of buses and light rail, RTD just lowered its fares this new year to increase access and ridership. Denver offers free fare for all for two months of every summer called Zero Fare for Better Air, which experienced 20% increased ridership in 2022.

12/15/2023

We didn't forget about you Flagstaff! We hope you didn't forget about us either. We've been wheelin and dealin to bolster this campaign. The photo is a sneak peak of an important update!

Want to help us make Mountain Line buses fare-free? Go to freemountainline.org (link in bio) to sign up to volunteer!

Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance

10/23/2023

Costume protests are the best! Come out to support your local climate movement!

Join us this Saturday (10/28) at 11AM on the lawn of Flagstaff City Hall to demonstrate against the continued exploration, extraction, and burning of fossil fuels! Bring your friends and family and wear a costume.* Climate change and nature-themed costumes are highly encouraged!

Are you looking to get more involved in your local climate movement? Climate Action Team leads will be on site to share the work they are doing and how you can help.

*We have a dozen grim reaper costumes that participants can wear*

10/16/2023

Grateful again this week for all of our endorsers! Thanks for giving us the inspiration to keep going 😊

Want to help us make Mountain Lone Bus fare-free? Go to freemountainline.org (link in profile) to sign the open letter or public comment

10/06/2023

Gratitude going out to all our supporters! Thanks for adding your name to our open letter, posing for a photo, volunteering, and encouraging us with your endorsement! 🤗

We are teaming up with Catch us outside the Farmers Market (across from City Hall) every Sunday in October from 8am-12pm. Stop by for local produce and to learn more about

Don't forget to tell your friends and family about us. Go to freemountainline.org (link in profile)
🖊️ Add your name to the open letter
🎤 Public comment by email, virtually, or in person
🙋🏻‍♀️ Sign up to volunteer

10/01/2023

We love our supporters and fellow Mountain Line riders! Jan has been so enthusiastic about the campaign that he wanted to sign on again. We are happy to let him reinforce his support by adding his name twice. It's always nice to bump into this local gentleman (and his brothers).

Want to support the campaign? It's quick and easy. Go to freemountainline.org
🖋️ Add your name to the open letter online
🗣️ Public comment at the next meeting (by email, virtually, or in person)
✋🏽 Sign up to volunteer!

09/29/2023

What's your reason for going fare-free? Fare-free public transit provides reliable transportation to low- and middle-income families in our community who do not have the extra income to purchase a car (or two) as they face rising inflation.

Go to freemountainline.org
✍ Sign the open letter
🗣️ Public comment (by email, virtually, or in person)
👩 Volunteer

09/27/2023

S/o to our new supporter Jehan for volunteering to Free Mountain Line Bus! We had a productive day spreading the message and signing up riders.

Can you please join us and volunteer to make Mountain Line Bus fare-free? DM or sign up at freemountainline.org

Mountain Line