Should Public Transit Be Fare-Free?

Today I’d like to explore the pros and cons of fare-free public transit, as many social justice and transit advocacy groups are advocating that transit fares be eliminated and the service funded 100% by taxation.

The first experiments with fare-free transit, like most innovations in the field, happened in the 1970s. These experiments produced an average of 15% increase in ridership during rush hours, and 45% at other times. The primary disadvantage, other than the revenue loss, was an increase in badly-behaved passengers. This, of course, is one of the main arguments against going fare-free in modern times as well.

Most transit experts and economists in the modern day appear to be less than enthusiastic about this idea, believing that improving service is a better way to increase the use of public transit.

One big problem with making transit fare-free is that corporate transit pass programs for employees would no longer have a reason to exist, and these are major revenue sources for transit systems, at least in the United States and Canada, due to tax laws.

In my opinion, there are certain situations where fare-free transit makes sense. For example, short-distance services in limited areas where there would be little incentive to “abuse” or “misuse” the service. Examples are college/university and downtown shuttles. I also think that free shuttles would make sense in sprawling suburban shopping areas which are too large to navigate on foot but too small for it to make sense to ride a regular, long-haul bus and pay a fare. Also, smaller cities and rural areas which don’t have either much transit usage or many badly-behaved citizens often find that the cost of collecting a fare is almost as much as the fare itself. Many of these places have already gone fare-free. The modern experiment with fare-free transit in Kansas City is interesting; maybe it will demonstrate that there is a way to make transit free while maintaining safety and security. Only time will tell.