Free Public Transit: We need demand-side environmentalism

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

We need demand-side environmentalism

A lot of current environmentalism is supply-side. It goes like this:

Demonize fossil-fuel producers
Interfere with fossil-fuel production and transport
Divest from fossil-fuel producers
Create non-fossil-fuel sources of energy

This is akin to trying to stop Niagara Falls with umbrellas. And creating more energy just adds to the volume of water coming over.

Here is a simple plan for demand-side environmentalism:

Stop wasting energy
Expose now-unseen subsidy of autos and sprawl
Change how people live
Lower the birth rate

Making public transit fare-free starts us on that path. The good news is, you don't have to wait for the federal government. You can have free transit in your town or city for about 60 basis points of tax.

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.