A policy instrument promoting a free fare public transport policy (FFPT) has recently been put into practice in 66 municipalities across Poland.
A third, and probably the most practical approach is found among the individual tools of urban planning and transportation strategies, whose aim is to make the transportation system more efficient by changing the current condition in a given area and set ting a new path for their development. From restrictive measures such as zero emission zones, tolls and parking charges, through designating pedestrian/bike zones and separate lines for public transport, to incentive measures such park & ride systems, an integrated public transport system or abolishing fares.
Although the policy of abolishing fares in public transport—here referred to as “fare-free public transport” (FFPT)—exists in nearly 100 localities worldwide, it has not been thoroughly researched. To start filling this gap, I enhance the conceptual clarity about fare abolition...
...I offer the most comprehensive inventory of full FFPT programmes to date
...Supported and contested by diverse rationales, it cannot be analysed as transport instrument alone.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11116-019-09986-6
Recently I met the people who run Island Transit in Whidbey Island, Wash., and rode their fare-free bus system. It’s a serious operation with 56 buses and 101 vans. Ridership tops a million a year. Its operating budget is $8,392,677 – none of it from fares, all from a 0.6 percent sales tax collected in Island County.
Despite the pressure to conform, the pressure to make users pay and the pressure from conservative politicians at all levels, Island Transit has been fare-free from day one and is proudly so 20 years later. Not one Island Transit bus, shelter or van has advertising on it. All of Island Transit’s buses are bike rack equipped and wheelchair accessible. For folks with disabilities, Island Transit also offers a paratransit service with door-to-door service.
...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...
