Free Public Transit: West Dover, VT - 200,000 free rides per year

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

West Dover, VT - 200,000 free rides per year

The Deerfield Valley Transit Association operates the MOOver, the best resort/community transit system in Vermont. Our trademark buses sport a Holstein motif, making the MOOver easy to "spot" and fun to ride! The MOOver is free, and this year will serve more than 200,000 riders. We provide year-round deviated fixed route and demand-response services. Deviations on the Wilmington-West Dover route are available up to ¼ of a mile upon request at least 24 hours in advance. moover.com

Free is Cheaper

How is free transit cheaper? Don't you have to make up for lost fare revenue? The answer is that your city will save so much money in other areas, and quality of life will improve so much that you will get back much more than the lost fares. Some examples are listed below. If you want to see specific numbers, see our spreadsheet here.

Increased return on investment. Public transit involves large fixed costs. When fares are gone, there are more riders per vehicle, getting more value from the investment.
Reduced parking costs. With free transit, fewer people will park downtown. City parking authorities can cost $180 million a year, paid by fines, which are just a tax on customers and delivery services.

Reduced traffic congestion. Studies have shown that the time lost in traffic costs urban economies hundreds of millions of dollars.
Less money exported for gasoline. A medium sized city can export 1 million dollars a day in gasoline money for cars. Free buses will reduce this considerably.
Better quality of life, priceless. In Hasselt, Belgium, when fares were removed, people in hospital started receiving more visitors.