What Really Happens When a City Makes Its Transit System Free?
When Jean-Francois Mayet became mayor of Châteauroux in 2001, the towns transit system was descending into irrelevance. Each of Châteaurouxs 49,000 inhabitants took the bus, on average, 21 times per year, well below the 38 per annum average for small French cities.
Mayet, a member of Frances socialist party, did what few mayors confronted with a struggling mass transit system would do: he made the whole thing free.
snip
The motivations for making a transit system free are obvious. Increased ridership can relieve traffic, improve the environment, boost the systems efficiency, give residents more spending money, help the poor, and rejuvenate central business districts. Unfortunately, the Châteauroux report contains little large-scale analysis of the effects of the system.
snip
And while it might revitalize a struggling small-town transit network, big cities dont need to incentivize mass transit the same way, where a larger proportion of residents have no other options. To help lower-income residents, Cordier favors a "social tariff" system, developed in Dunkerque in the 1990s, in which discounts on transport passes basically correspond to a passengers tax bracket. In Grenoble, for example, the poorest residents can get 95 percent off a transport pass, while the rich pay full price. This allows cities to keep investing in improving the system.
Snip
The concept is about to meet its biggest test. At the end of this year, Tallinn, Estonia (pop. 406,000) will eliminate fares on its transit system for residents, making it the worlds biggest city with free mass transit.
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/10/what-really-happens-when-city-makes-its-transit-system-free/3708/
Damn Socialists!!!