Fare-free public transport

[ozbob]

AFR --> Fare-free public transport is 'no revolution', experts say

Fare-free public transport is a policy that's been tested in Europe, as an answer to congestion and carbon emissions, and now the idea is being debated here.

Estonia opened up the policy for use in all county jurisdictions in July and now Luxembourg's government plans to abolish fees from July next year.

In Australia, the idea is being toyed with rather than actively endorsed. The Queensland Greens stopped short of free transit for all when it went to the 2017 election with a flat $1 ticketing system.

In NSW, Labor has promised a policy where all kids under 16 are given free rides and it is understood that the NSW Greens plan to go a step further with free transit for all during the working week as the election draws nearer.

But there's a good reason why the policy is largely avoided, according to Monash University's Graham Currie, and that's because it can't "hack it" as a solution to congestion, environmental pressures, or public transport's traditional woes.

"It ain't no revolution and it costs a lot of dosh," Dr Currie said. "It doesn't tackle the problem."

Dr Currie, who founded University's Public Transport Research Group, said the main issues were overcrowding and the litany of under-serviced areas in the outer-suburban areas of the major cities.

The University of Canberra's Cameron Gordon, another transport researcher, said a fare-free system wouldn't be effective as a "silver bullet" solution and instead claimed it was "about context".
'Not a good or bad idea'

"Offering free transit is not a good or bad idea," Dr Gordon said. "It could possibly be effective if did other things like increase road charges, have expensive parking, had better developing patterns."

The improvement of infrastructure would be near impossible if public transit were free because the cost of fully subsidising these systems would reach into the billions.

Dr Currie said the Andrews government's plan to spend $50 billion on a new suburban rail loop – predicted by the same government to be the busiest rail network in Melbourne when it is built – would equal the cost of fare-free public transport for 30 years.

"Of those two, I know which one will have a significantly bigger impact and that would be the metro ... we should be using the money to spread the system around the city so everyone the choice [to catch public transport]," Dr Currie said.

The NSW Labor Party's kids-only plan would cost taxpayers $636 million over the next three years, according Parliamentary Budget Office estimates, and Victoria will spend $1 million offering three weeks of free buses along Melbourne's south-east when construction cripples the train line.

Dr Currie said his modelling showed the usage of public transport would increase about 20 to 30 per cent under a fare-free system, taking those people off the road.

But Dr Gordon disagreed. "Even if it does increase ridership it doesn't get people out of automobiles," he said.

He said public transport infrastructure, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, is already at capacity and overcrowded, a factor that would drive people back to the roads.

The inconvenience of having to swap services several times on a trip for people in areas with below par coverage was also an element that could drive people into their cars.

However, there was agreement from both that fare-free public transport was an inefficient way to achieve its main goals – an ease of congestion and environmental pressures that come with many car drivers.

[AnonymouslyBad]

One of those policies that always sounds good to the people who don't catch public transport!

Public transport should be affordable for everyone but there's little to gain from it being actually free.

Flat fare systems are also a bit of a rort - at least in the Australian context (sprawling cities). There's no reason someone travelling 3km should pay the same as someone travelling 30km, except of course that the person travelling 30km probably lives in a marginal seat 

[techblitz]

https://themindunleashed.com/2019/12/kansas-city-public-transportation-free.html

https://twitter.com/JobsMoveAmerica/status/1202984178465292288

Kansas City Becomes First Major US City to Make Public Transportation Free

Fare-free public transportation has become an increasingly popular idea in recent years.
(TMU) — Kansas City, Missouri, has just made history by becoming the first major city in the United States to have fare-free public transportation.
The move comes after the city council unanimously voted to endorse the "Zero Fare Transit" proposal to make all city bus routes fare-free, directing the city manager to develop and implement the plan. They city's streetcar has been free since it first opened.

The free bus service, which is expected to cost the city roughly $8 million, does away with the previous ticket costs of $1.50 per ticket, or $50 for a monthly pass, reports WDAF.
Local officials have been framing the move not as "wasteful expenditures" or a "burden on taxpayers," but as a good investment into the city.

City Councilman Eric Bunch framed the plan as a means to offer a strong helping hand to the city's low-income residents, who rely on public transit to commute to work. According to KSHB, Bunch said:


"When we're talking about improving people's lives who are our most vulnerable citizens, I don't think there's any question that we need to find that money.

That's not a ton of money and it's money that we as a city, if we want to prioritize public transportation, it's something that we can find."
New Mayor Quinton Lucas has also strongly supported the plan, which is being greeted warmly by city residents. Bus rider Loren Miles said:
I think it would make the bus system stronger, not weaker, and would probably bring in more revenue, not less."

Some have criticized the move as short-sighted and expensive to taxpayers. Local resident Teresa Bradshaw questioned the plan, noting:


"If you take it away, then where are our taxes going to go? How high are the taxes? It's got to come from somewhere."

The editorial board of the Kansas City Star, which backs the new measure, argued that the money can easily be found elsewhere. In an editorial last month, they argued:


"A good first step would be to stop giving away tax revenue to developers. Other efficiencies, including elimination of fare boxes on buses, could help. So could reclaiming sales tax dollars now subsidizing the streetcar."

Supporters have also argued that the move has myriad benefits, including strengthening the local economy overall and reducing the environmental impact of private transportation. Climate change protesters and livable city advocates across the world have demanded increased investment in mass transportation amid rising awareness of climate change.
Fare-free public transit has become an increasingly popular idea among cash-strapped urban residents in recent years, with cities including Denver and Salt Lake City openly floating the progressive idea in recent city elections.

Meanwhile, in cities across the U.S. such as Portland, Oregon, and New York City, municipalities have been spending their tax dollars installing cameras and hiring more transit police in order to crack down on and criminalize those evading their often-expensive transit fare.

[#Metro]

$8 million per year?

Do they only have 5 bus routes in the city or something?

[Gazza]

And their light rail system (I've ridden it) consists of a single 2.5km long line in the downtown.