Free Public Transit: What city-wide #freepublictransport would mean

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

What city-wide #freepublictransport would mean

more bus and tram riders
more demand for buses and trams
better frequency of service
fewer cars
more room in the city
people move to town, sell car
people see education, not children, as security
birth rate falls
shift in living to walkable areas
bicycling becomes safe
habits shift to walking and cycling
falling birth rate virtuous cycle
oil wars end
Islamophobia ends

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.