🔢 Key Takeaways
- Advocates for accessible and inclusive public transit challenge the idea of paying fares. However, the question of free public transit requires context, and Marcus Finbom's approach offers a unique perspective to prioritize accessibility.
- Providing free public transportation can help communities gain greater access to economic opportunities, promote racial equity, and fight climate change. Michelle Wu encourages taking calculated risks and being proactive to achieve transformative change.
- Free public transportation can improve the mobility of low-income families and has several benefits, including reducing carbon emissions, increasing access to education, work, and healthcare, and improving service speed. Kansas City has become the first major U.S. city to offer free public transit.
- Kansas City was able to make their transit system free by relying on government subsidies for funding. Fare-box recovery ratios vary between transit systems, with most operating costs subsidized by the government.
- Eliminating transit fares can increase accessibility for low-income individuals and decrease the need for fare collection and enforcement. Pilot programs in Kansas City and Boston have shown success, and alternative sources of revenue can sustain free transit programs.
- While fare-free transit has advantages for low-income passengers and reducing congestion, it requires a nuanced approach considering transportation experts' opinions and potential driver safety concerns before blanket policies are implemented.
- Adding capacity to transportation systems can increase demand until a new equilibrium is reached. Investing in fare-free or increased service frequency can encourage ridership and improve service reliability. Fare-free pilot programs have been successful in cities like Boston.
- Public transit systems should simplify fare payment to boost ridership, improve service reliability, and enhance overall user experience. Technology can help, but accessibility for all riders must be considered.
- Making public transit fare-free for low-income populations can encourage sustainable, affordable transportation and reduce driving. Policy decisions should consider the impact on people's daily lives.
- Public transit efficacy depends on location, demographics, personal vehicle availability, and ride-sharing options. Innovative approaches, like providing cars to low-income populations, may enhance mobility more effectively than expensive transit systems.
- Instead of excluding low-income people from cars, pricing automobile use could reduce transit subsidies and increase demand. Brian Taylor proposes considering climate change, disadvantaged groups, resilience to shocks, and managing private-vehicle travel. Pricing roads according to supply and demand is possible.
- Simply increasing driving costs is not enough to encourage public transit usage. Affordable and accessible public transit options, such as park-and-ride systems and low-cost fares, must also be provided to achieve a successful reduction in congestion and emissions.
- Investing in public transport and promoting it as a social service can lead to a culture shift away from cars. Before implementing fare-free programs, consider alternative ways to allocate resources that may benefit riders more.
- Fare-free public transit can have social-equity and environmental benefits, but success depends on careful consideration of local context and the needs of the community. Supporting public transit funding solely for the hope of reduced driving dependence may not be effective.
📝 Podcast Notes
The Rise of Fare-Dodging Insurance Plan and Public Transit Advocacy
Marcus Finbom, a public-transit advocate from Stockholm, Sweden, and his comrades at Planka challenged the idea of paying for public transit with their fare-dodging insurance plan. They believed that public transit should be open and accessible for everyone, without barriers or borders. This idea aligns with the argument that public transit is good for the environment, economic opportunity, and social mobility. However, the question of whether public transit should be free everywhere cannot be answered without context, according to Brian Taylor. Overall, Marcus Finbom's approach to advocating for public transit offers a unique perspective on the importance of accessibility and inclusivity in public transportation.
The Benefits of Free Public Transportation for Economic Mobility, Racial Equity, and Climate Justice
Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, believes that free public transportation will be a necessary step in achieving economic mobility, racial equity, and climate justice. A Harvard study showed that the average commute time to work is the most closely linked factor to a family's ability to rise out of poverty. Wu emphasizes that transportation and transportation infrastructure decisions play a crucial role in determining which communities have access to economic opportunities. By offering free public transport, cities can provide their citizens with greater connectedness and the ability to move towards economic mobility, thereby promoting racial equity and climate justice. Wu advocates for taking calculated risks to achieve the necessary scale of change and transformation, encouraging a proactive approach that focuses on urgency in the communities.
The Impact of Free Public Transportation on Low-Income Families and its Benefits
Free public transportation can have a significant impact on low-income families by increasing their mobility for basic life necessities, as seen in the M.I.T. study. Means-tested discount programs are a step in the right direction towards achieving free transportation for all. Boston, where Black bus riders spend 64 more hours per year on city buses compared to white riders, would benefit greatly from eliminating transit fares, which would also improve service speed. Free public transit could have major benefits in reducing carbon emissions and traffic, while increasing access to education, work, and healthcare. Kansas City made history by becoming the first major U.S. city to offer free public transit.
Kansas City's Free Transit System and Government Subsidies
Kansas City made transit zero-fare for veterans, school children, and safety-net providers before making the entire system free. They found that less than 10% of their budget came from fare-boxes, with the rest being covered by federal, state, and local funding. Other transit systems have varying fare-box recovery ratios, with some as low as the teens and others as high as 50%. The majority of operating costs are funded by government subsidies, making it possible for Kansas City to make its transit system free for everyone. Public transit ridership varies depending on geography, economics, and history of a city, with more middle- and high-income people using it in places like San Francisco, Boston, and New York due to expensive and time-consuming car travel.
The Benefits of Eliminating Transit Fares for Low-Income Individuals
Eliminating transit fares can improve accessibility and equity in public transportation for low-income individuals. Free fares also decrease fare-box disputes and incidents on transit vehicles, as seen in Kansas City where such disputes accounted for over 75 percent of incidents. Furthermore, eliminating fares can lead to operational cost savings and efficiencies such as faster routes, decreasing the need for enforcement and fare collection. Pilot programs in Kansas City and Boston have demonstrated the success of free transit for low-income areas. Advocates of free transit argue that the benefits outweigh the costs, and alternative sources of revenue can be pursued to sustain fare-free programs.
The momentum of fare-free transit and its potential challenges in implementing it universally.
The idea of fare-free transit is gaining momentum with the increase in ridership, especially for low-income passengers and reduced congestion and pollution. However, there are challenges to implementing it universally in places like New York City where a significant number of passengers do not pay and driver safety is a concern. It is crucial to consider transportation experts' opinions before implementing blanket policies. Brian Taylor, a transportation expert, believes that transit should not be completely free, and there needs to be a nuanced approach. The U.C.L.A. Institute of Transportation Studies is one of the world's premier transportation research institutions.
Understanding latent demand in transportation planning and the effectiveness of fare-free pilot programs.
In transportation planning, it's important to understand the concept of latent demand and the idea that demand is not fixed. Adding capacity to a road or public transport system can initially decrease congestion, but ultimately leads to increased demand until the system reaches a new equilibrium. Furthermore, people are as responsive to changes in service frequency as they are to changes in price. Transportation agencies should consider investing windfalls in making services free or increasing service frequency to encourage ridership and improve service reliability. The success of fare-free pilot programs in cities like Boston highlights the effectiveness of such interventions.
Prioritizing Simplicity in Public Transit Fare Payment
Public transit systems should prioritize ease of use and simplicity in fare payment, rather than focusing solely on inclusivity. The complexity of fare policies and payment methods often deters ridership and negatively impacts service reliability. While technology can make payment easier, it's important to consider accessibility for all riders. Although there is no clear-cut answer on the benefits of free public transit, improving the overall user experience through streamlined payment systems should be a priority.
Finding a Solution for Fare-Free Public Transit
Fare-free public transit is a complex issue with no one-size-fits-all solution. Means-testing is one option but it could exclude some disadvantaged travelers. Making public transit free for peak-hour, peak-direction commuters with higher incomes may not be sensible. Instead, fare-free transit may benefit low-income, disadvantaged populations. The goal should be to make driving rarer and encourage sustainable, affordable public transit. Understanding the impact on people's daily lives is important to make informed policy decisions about transportation.
The Contextual Nature of Public Transit
Public transit is context-specific and can vary greatly in usefulness depending on the location, environment, and population. While some places like New York rely heavily on public transit, other areas may not benefit as much. Additionally, factors such as the availability of personal vehicles and the rise of ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft can impact public-transit use. Instead of focusing solely on funding expensive public-transit systems, other solutions like providing low-income households with access to automobiles may be more effective in increasing mobility.
Proposed Solutions for Transit and the Environment
Brian Taylor, a transit scholar at U.C.L.A., believes that environmental policies should not be balanced on keeping low-income people out of cars. Instead, he suggests that properly pricing automobile use could reduce the need to subsidize transit and increase demand for it. As Secretary of Transportation, Taylor's priorities would include considering climate change, access for disadvantaged people, resilience to shocks, and managing private-vehicle travel to make driving rarer. He believes that investing in public transit is undermined by policies that make it easier and cheaper to drive. Taylor argues that making public transit fare-free without addressing the negative externalities of car travel is not a solution. Pricing roads according to supply and demand, contrary to popular belief, is possible and necessary.
The Impact and Importance of Incentivizing Public Transit Usage in Cities
London's congestion charge has led to a 44% reduction in roadside emissions and a 60% increase in bus ridership in a six-year period. However, simply making driving more expensive is not enough to increase public transit ridership. Providing actual access to affordable public transit, such as through park-and-ride systems and low-cost fares, is essential to incentivize people to switch from driving. The combination of disincentives and incentives must go hand in hand to achieve a successful modal shift. By taking a holistic approach, cities can reduce congestion and emissions while also improving mobility options for all residents.
How Congestion Pricing and Lack of Transit Investment Shape Urban Mobility in Sweden
Stockholm's congestion pricing system has led to a culture shift, where people opt for public transportation. While Gothenburg, the second-biggest city in Sweden, failed to invest in access to public transit, making car-riding more expensive and causing public outrage. The idea that public transit serves as a redistributive social service and critical for people who can't drive for age, income, or disability reasons is not advertised to voters, which creates an opportunity cost of spending money to eliminate fares. Before implementing a fare-free program, one should consider if the money could be used for something riders might value even more than a free ride.
The Pros and Cons of Fare-Free Public Transit
While arguments in favor of fare-free public transit are strong, the success of such a program ultimately depends on the characteristics of the ridership. Studies have shown that many people who support public transit funding do so in hopes that other drivers will switch to public transit, making driving easier for them. However, this mindset can lead to modest reductions in automobile dependence at best. Instead, fare-free public transit can have significant social-equity and environmental benefits. The question remains whether such benefits are worth the cost of implementing a fare-free system. Ultimately, the success of fare-free public transit will depend on careful consideration of local context and the needs of the community.