Paris Considers Free Public Transit

Paris' Socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, wants to make transit free to get people out of their cars in the city of 2.2 million.

1 minute read

March 23, 2018, 7:00 AM PDT

By Casey Brazeal @northandclark


Metro Paris

EQRoy / Shutterstock

Reuters reports that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has put forward a plan to make public transit free in the city. Opponents to the plan point out that fares generate over 3 million euros, and without those fares, tax-payers would have to make up the difference. Dropping the price would also boost ridership (as Hidalgo intends), but would also boost costs.

Hidalgo sees free transit as an important component of discouraging car travel and curbing the emissions from transit, currently the main contributor to carbon emissions. Hidalgo has already executed a number of plans to discourage car travel in the city including turning highways into parks and greatly expanding the city’s bike infrastructure.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018 in Reuters

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