Planetizen Newswire
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Fare-Free Transit
In case anyone was getting carried away with the idea of fare-free transit, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County has some cold water to pour on the conversation.
Houston Chronicle
Feature
Planetizen Managing Editor James Brasuell tries to predict the big ideas and trends that will dominate the discussion about the future of land use, planning, and development in the first year of the new decade.
Kansas City, Missouri will be the largest U.S. city to operate a fare-free system that officials say will make transit more accessible.
CityLab
A county commissioner is asking for a study of fare-free transit programs in Kansas City and Salt Lake City to inform the potential implementation fo a similar program in the South Florida county.
Miami Today
While the details of funding are undetermined, Kansas City, Missouri took a monumental step in the history of U.S. public transit yesterday.
KSHB
The pros and cons of fare-free transit involve a range of issues, from operations logistics and outcomes to costs and fiscal priorities.
Pedestrian Observations
The Sacramento City Council could ensure that more students arrive at school every day, as future lifelong transit riders, by offering free public transit.
The Sacramento Bee
Brussels is the latest city to provide incentives for commuters willing to take transit in the name of air quality.
The Guardian
The Utah Transit Authority ran a one-time Fare-Free-Friday in December, thanks to sponsorship by the Salt Lake City Council and the Salt Lake County Mayor’s Office. Another sponsor will be needed to support any future iterations of Fare-Free-Friday.
KUTV
Mass demonstrations in Brazil over the past week were sparked by increases to bus fares. But what if buses were free? The Economist makes the argument that, to improve service and decrease congestion, we should study making buses and subways free.
The Economist
In January of this year, Tallinn (pop. 423,000) became the first European capital and the largest European city to provide public transit free of charge to its residents. So far, the experiment has proven a success.
Euro Cities
Jean-Francois Mayet, the mayor of Châteauroux, introduced free ridership in a bid to turn around his town's failing transit system. Eleven years later, total ridership has increased 208 percent. Henry Grabar examines whether free transit is scalable.
The Atlantic Cities
Despite the downward trend in public services like transit, the city of Baltimore in opening a free transit line.
Wired
The largest free mass transit area in the U.S. is changing its rules next year, when it will start charging people to ride the bus.
The Oregonian
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced an idea to speed up buses in Manhattan by eliminating crosstown bus fares.
The New York Times
Charles Komanoff, an economist, analyst and activist in New York, has created an elaborate spreadsheet looking at the cost of congestion to the city. His conclusion? Free transit and congestion pricing would relieve traffic.
Reuters Blogs
Feature
Transit agencies spend a lot of money to make money. In many cases, the amount spent equals or even surpasses the amount they bring in from fares. So why charge them at all?
Free off-peak transportation on buses and trains in Connecticut has generated interest and support, but some seniors would prefer that greater funding be devoted to existing dial-a-ride services that are already in place across the state.
The New York Times
