Free public transport, also often called free public transit or zero-fare public transport, is a single or network of transport services funded in full by means other than collecting a full fare from passengers. It may be funded by national, regional or local government through taxation or by commercial sponsorship by businesses. The concept of "free-ness" is one that may take other forms, such as no fare access via a card which may or may not be paid in its entirety by the user. See Free travel pass for more on this.
Contents |
Several mid-size European cities and many smaller towns around the world have converted their entire bus networks to zero-fare. The city of Hasselt in Belgium is a notable example: fares were abolished in 1997 and ridership was as much as "13 times higher" by 2006.[1]
Local zero-fare shuttles or inner-city loops are far more common than city-wide systems. They often use buses or trams. These may be set up by a city government to ease bottlenecks or fill short gaps in the transport network.
Zero-fare transport is often operated as part of the services offered within a public facility, such as a hospital or university campus shuttle or an airport inter-terminal shuttle.
Some zero-fare services may be built to avoid the need for large transport construction. Some port cities where shipping would require very high bridges might provide zero-fare ferries instead. These are free at the point of use, just as the use of a bridge might have been. Machinery installed within a building or shopping centre can be seen as 'zero-fare transport': elevators, escalators and moving sidewalks are often provided by property owners and funded through the sales of goods and services. Even community bicycle programs, providing free bicycles for short-term public use could be thought of as zero-fare transport.
A common example of zero-fare transport is student transport, where students travelling to or from school do not need to pay in many cases. One notable example would be The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which provides much of the funding needed to operate the Stevens Point Transit system. As a result, all students enrolled at the university can use any of the 4 city-wide campus routes as well as the other 4 bus routes throughout the city free of charge. The university also funds two late night bus routes to serve the downtown free of charge with a goal of cutting down drunk driving.
In some regions transport is free because the revenues are lower that expenses from fare collection is already partially paid by government or company or service (for example BMO railway road in Moscow, most part of is used to as service transport and officially pick up passengers).
Transport operators can benefit from faster boarding and shorter dwell times, allowing faster timetabling of services. Although some of these benefits can be achieved in other ways, such as off-vehicle ticket sales and modern types of electronic fare collection, zero-fare transport avoids equipment and personnel costs.
Passenger aggression may be reduced. In 2008 bus drivers of Société des Transports Automobiles (STA) in Essonne held strikes demanding zero-fare transport for this reason. They claim that 90% of the aggression is related to refusal to pay the fare.[2]
Some zero-fare transport services are funded by private businesses (such as the merchants in a shopping mall) in the hope that doing so will increase sales or other revenue from increased foot traffic or ease of travel. Employers often operate free shuttles as a benefit to their employees, or as part of a congestion mitigation agreement with a local government.
Zero-fare transport can make the system more accessible and fair for low-income residents. Other benefits are the same as those attributed to public transport generally:
Global benefits of zero-fare transport are also the same as those attributed to public transport generally. If use of personal cars is discouraged, zero-fare public transport could mitigate the problems of global warming and oil depletion.
| Town/City | Population | Operator | notes |
| Aubagne, France | 42,900 (100,000 in the area concerned) | since may 15 2009 | |
| Bar-le-Duc, France | 15,700 | since 1st September 2008[3] | |
| Boulogne-Billancourt, France | 110,000 | since 1992[4] | |
| Cache Valley, Utah | since 2000 | ||
| Castres, France | 62,500 | since October 2008 | |
| Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina | 70,000+ | Chapel Hill Transit | operated by the Town of Chapel Hill to serve Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and UNC-Chapel Hill; supported by taxpayers and University fee-payers. The system has been fare-free since 2002. |
| Châteauroux, France | 47,127 | since 2001 | |
| Cheremushki, Russia | 9,000 | trams are serviced by Dam's staff | zero fare is official to anybody (de jure service line because the taxes would be higher than revenues) |
| Clemson, South Carolina | 11,939 | Clemson Area Transit | partnership between Clemson University and surrounding communities |
| Colomiers, France | 28,538 | In 1971 it became the first area of France to offer zero-fare public transport which is still in operation at present | |
| Commerce, California | 41,000 | all transportation services are free of charge[5] | |
| Compiègne, France | 12,500 | since 1990s[6] | |
| Coral Gables, Florida | 42,871 | ||
| Emeryville, California | 9,727 | Emery Go Round | |
| Figeac, France | 9,900 | since its inception in September 2003. | |
| Gibraltar, Gibraltar | 29,500 | state | since May 2011 |
| Hasselt, Belgium | 72,000 | H-lijn | since July 1, 1997; 1300% ridership increase[7] |
| Hořovice, Czech Republic | 6,800 | Probo Trans Beroun s. r. o. | since March 2008, city transport has only one bus line (No. 210009 alias C09 or C9) |
| Island County, Washington | 81,054 | Island Transit | since 1987 |
| Issoudun, France | 13,500 | since its inception in 1989 - has Free in the name of the service (Transport Issoudun Gratuit) | |
| Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho | 3,003 | Mountain Rides | |
| Kiruna, Sweden | 18,090 | since 2011 | |
| Libourne, France | 23,000 | since 1st january 2009 for under 18s and 28th august 2010 for everyone | |
| Logan, Utah | 49,534 | since 1992 | |
| Lübben, Germany | 14,500 | influenced by Hasselt | |
| Manises, Spain | 30,478 | [8] | |
| Manosque, France | 22,200 | since 1st january 2010 | |
| Mariehamn, Åland | 11,000 | in addition to free bus services, persons and bicycles travel free of charge with the archipelago ferries (there is a fee for motorcycles, cars, caravans and other vehicles). | |
| Nova Gorica, Slovenia | 31,000 | since April 2006. | |
| Övertorneå, Sweden | 2,000 | even 70 km free rides on local buses in this rural community | |
| Stanford, California | 13,809 | Stanford Marguerite Shuttle | |
| Templin, Germany | 16,500 | ||
| Türi, Estonia | 6,174 | ||
| Vail, Colorado | 4,589 | over 20 hours of service every day during winter | |
| Vero Beach, Florida | 140,000 | GoLine | free 14-route public transit system serves 700,000 annual riders |
| Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine, France | 15,313 | since spring 2001, first French urban agglomeration to do so. |
Free public transport creates the perception of a no-cost service, just as car drivers commonly perceive no cost to deciding to take their car somewhere. The catch of the car-based system is that the car trip is not in fact free, far from it, but it is generally perceived as such.
Likewise, this perception of freeness is important for public transport, which is far more environmentally and resource efficient than own-car travel – which means in this case that full access to the system need not be altogether “free” for its users but that from a financial perspective is becomes (a) front-loaded and (b) affordable. The invariable fact of life of delivering any public service is that the money to do so must come from somewhere – and of “free” public transport that once the user has entered into some kind of “contract” with her or his city – for example a monthly or annual transit pass that opens up the public system to unlimited use for those who pay for it. Now, how they pay and how much will be part of the overall political/economic package (“contract”) of their community. In cities that offer such passes – as is the case to take but one example in most cities in France that since the mid-seventies have had their own Carte Orange – the remainder of the funds needed to pay for these services comes from other sources (mainly in this case from employers, local government).
Left-wing advocacy groups, such as the Swedish network Planka.nu, see zero-fare public transport as an effort in the redistribution of wealth.[9] It is also argued that transportation to and from work is a necessary part of the work day, and is essential to the employer in the managing of work hours. It is thus argued that financing of public transportation should fall to employers rather than private citizens.[10]