Almost 50 cities in France have already done away with paid tickets...
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"there may have been many specific time-limited factors involved"
The nature of which is left as an exercise for the reader!
Not a difficult exercise - eg. a special event such as a conference, or a car show ! But the point is that only measures over time can really evidence the sustained effects of free public transport on traffic, etc...
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No, I asked you if you have data relative to a country you are currently in, for which you asserted there is "Very high ridership/utilization, which keeps a lot of cars off the roads."
Your response has consisted thus far of an assertion that data is unnecessary and a series of straw men trying to restate my question as a different argument and stating other benefits from making passenger transport free at the point of use unrelated to car use.
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@plock @GeofCox The buses and trams spend less time at stops and more time moving, because nobody is fishing for change, cards, etc. and all the doors are available for use as entrances, exits, since there are no fares to collect. Getting on and off a bus is easy as efficient and there are knock on effects all throughout the system. The system MOVES rather than ACCOUNTS.
As I highlighted before, a complete straw man.
Again, you've gone to great lengths to state benefits from making passenger transport free at the point of use which have nothing to do with the original question, which was around your assertion that in a specific case it had kept a lot of cars off the roads.
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No, I asked you if you have data relative to a country you are currently in, for which you asserted there is "Very high ridership/utilization, which keeps a lot of cars off the roads."
Your response has consisted thus far of an assertion that data is unnecessary and a series of straw men trying to restate my question as a different argument and stating other benefits from making passenger transport free at the point of use unrelated to car use.
@plock @GeofCox From a brief search, Belgrade implemented their free transit at the beginning of 2025. They're the largest city to try this, so far. They've had a net increase of about 250,000 vehicles in the area in the last decade. I guess only time and data gathering will tell if this works for them as a method of reducing cars on the road relative to population, but imo that isn't the only measure of such a system's success.
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@plock @GeofCox From a brief search, Belgrade implemented their free transit at the beginning of 2025. They're the largest city to try this, so far. They've had a net increase of about 250,000 vehicles in the area in the last decade. I guess only time and data gathering will tell if this works for them as a method of reducing cars on the road relative to population, but imo that isn't the only measure of such a system's success.
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Not a difficult exercise - eg. a special event such as a conference, or a car show ! But the point is that only measures over time can really evidence the sustained effects of free public transport on traffic, etc...
"a special event such as a conference, or a car show"
Which is it? What was the event in Tallinn in 2013 which completely skewed the data and which researchers have all failed to allow for in their analysis?
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@GeofCox Why don’t people walk or cycle instead? It is already free. The answer is that authorities don’t want to restrict the speed of motor traffic. Instead they make cyclists wear helmets and hi-viz vests.
You can research the safety issue if you like. The short version is that personal protective equipment is a dead end. It is a distraction from safe cycling infrastructure. As are many things…
Équipements obligatoires à vélo
Pour circuler à vélo, certains accessoires sont obligatoires et d'autres simplement recommandés : casque, gilet, phares, sonnette…
(www.service-public.gouv.fr)
It is very dangerous unfortunately to ride a bike. The infrasyructure is car-friendly and definitely not bike-friendly... and/or walk-friendly
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It is very dangerous unfortunately to ride a bike. The infrasyructure is car-friendly and definitely not bike-friendly... and/or walk-friendly
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I have heard some people use the term "free at the point of service", but not only is this not catchy, it isn't really accurate either. Drugs are not funded equally, dental care and mental healthcare are not all covered, disability support is so limited that people have to self-insure for glasses.
"Crowdsourced healthcare" is very cozy, but it feels a little more scattershot than it really is. I think "taxpayer funded healthcare" is probably a more accurate term. I don't know if it's catchy enough to replace "free healthcare".
I'm open to ideas here. I would definitely like a better term to just start using.
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Almost 50 cities in France have already done away with paid tickets... "Nearly three million people in France can now use urban public transport without paying a fare. That number is likely to grow after the municipal elections... given the proliferation of proposals to make urban transport at least partially free."
Brilliant idea...
