Many mayors and mayoral candidates have called for fare-free public transit in their cities... a few examples:
- New York City
- Houston
- Dayton
- Durham
- San Fransisco
- Auckland [candidate]
- Hartford [candidate]
- Paris
- Seoul
- Mexico City
- Chennai
- Tallinn
- many more
Some have had success, and some have been able to implement based on pollution rates.
But in many cases they suddenly go quiet. Mayor Bloomberg was notable example. He said on radio that "of course" fare-free is the way to go. Then he went silent, and has been silent on the topic ever since.
Free transit is an obvious solution to the headaches and pain of the auto and sprawl, but it threatens to expose massive autosprawl subsidies. When cars no longer have critical mass, people will no longer tolerate their subsidy. Politicians are told by their masters that free transit is a career ender.
