Here's What Happens When Public Transit Is Free

[FM123]

HuffPost - Cities in the U.S. and around the world are making buses and trains free for residents, aiming to increase equality and tackle pollution.

Candria Gray and her two children live in Worcester, Massachusetts, where they rely on city buses to get nearly everywhere: college classes, elementary school, the pediatrician’s office. By 2017, when the Worcester Regional Transit Authority raised fares from $1.50 per ride to $1.75, Gray was spending as much as $12 a day on transit — a good chunk of her budget as a single mom. And the increased fare was not accompanied by improved service.

In January, after the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, a local think tank, proposed the idea, the city council declared its support for eliminating fares altogether. It’s a move that Gray and other local advocates believe will not only ease the financial burden on riders but also increase the number of people who choose to take transit, ultimately touching off a virtuous cycle that will lead to better bus service and fewer cars on the road.

snip

Questions remain, including how to make up the lost revenue and if free transit even makes sense without simultaneous improvements in frequency and reliability. But if mobility is a human right, as many have argued, then this radical move may be a necessary step toward a world where everyone has equal access to jobs, services and recreation. Free rides could also prove a powerful tool against climate change if they can tempt people who would otherwise drive to try a greener mode of transportation.

(read more) https://www.huffpost.com/entry/free-public-transit-kansas-city-estonia_n_5e4f9b49c5b6b82aa651191e

[msongs]

1. umm its not free. somebody is paying for it.

[FM123]

3. Yes, somebody is paying for it

but with a little help, those who really need free rides don't have to.

Fares sometimes amount to only a small fraction of a system’s funding — 14%, or about $3 million, in Worcester — which means lost revenues can often be made up for with federal and state grants, budget reallocations or special taxes. France uses a payroll tax on businesses to support urban and regional transit systems, allowing some of them to offer free rides. In the U.S., free transit in some college towns is made possible by a subsidy from the local university.

[MichMan]

2. Pretty impressive that all the employees that operate it volunteer

[unc70]

4. Very little comes from the fare box

It is often down around 10% of operating costs. Locally, buses were made fare-free for everyone nearly 20 years ago. Ridership rates exploded. Yes, somebody is still paying, but who is little changed when fares are eliminated.

[Wellstone ruled]

5. Back in the day,

1979-1983 drove a Transit Bus Part time for a Private Suburban Bus Company. Southwest Suburbs to down town and back. Had the PM side of one of the Routes,we had six or seven Bus's total on that main arterial. In a effort to increase ridership and get people whom worked downtown,we offered free Passes as well as every do often free trips to downtown. Mind you,our owner was not going to loose a darn dime,we received rebates for all the free rides from the Metro Transit Commission.

When those free be ride days were advertised,extra Bus's had to be added to every Suburban Route. On those Days of the Free Rides,my Bus was standing room only and first thing that became apparent was the Chatter among my Riders. Normally,the outbound is pretty quite,it took a good twenty plus minutes to my first stop and the noise level would amp up the further we traveled. And about a hour and half to the last stop. So if a City wants to get the Auto's off the Streets,just do free Transportation,people are much more productive in the long run.

[Hortensis]

6. This is liberal Democratic progressivism at work.

Of course it's not free, it's progressive allocation of resources, in this case in places where this particular action creates greater returns than costs.

Note that socialism and the need to sacrifice individual freedoms for the communal good was not required.

[mnhtnbb]

7. Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC have had fare free buses

since 2002. The bus system is funded by the two towns and UNC Chapel Hill.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_Hill_Transit

[spanone]

8. K&R...

[yortsed snacilbuper]

9. You need some leverage to get free rides,

Like letting them run a lottery in exchange for free bus rides for the downtrodden?