2003 Yale study of Automobile Externalities and Free Transit

...Since the abolishment of all transit fares for the entire urban area in July 1997, ridership has increased by more than 1,000 percent (City of Hasselt 2000). The reasoning behind the idea of fare free transit is the following: A considerable modal shift from car travel to public transportation makes the construction of new roads unnecessary, and existing roads can even be built back...