Following California's Covid-19 health regulations in early 2020, Metro, the Los Angeles public transit agency stopped collecting fares on its busses as a safety precaution measure. However, the company's decision turned into the United States' biggest free-transit experiment, as ridership never dipped below 50 percent, even with the stay-at-home orders enforced by the government. Following 22 months of the decision and around 281 million fare-free transits, the company has decided to restart collecting fares, but is planning on using the information gathered throughout these two years to implement future improvements and introduce other free or reduced-fare programs in the city.
The pandemic was perhaps one of the biggest factors of the United States' public transportation struggles of the past two years. Although Metro was unable to calculate exactly how many people were riding fare-free buses throughout the past two years, the company was still able to recover 80 percent of pre-COVID trips compared to other states, after their experiment. Oscar Zarate, assistant director of organizing with Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, explained that "it's not by coincidence. I think it’s because most of the people who ride the bus depend on it because they’re workers and that’s their primary transportation. And because they didn’t have to pay for it, it was really easy to get on and benefit from our public transportation system.”
The financial decision did not set the company back in terms of revenue, as its budget doesn’t rely heavily on fare collection. The total funds collected throughout a single year make up only 6 percent of the system's total revenue, and a third of which goes into fare enforcement. Metro's experiment is not the first to take place in the United States. Another permanent free-transit program is run by Kansas City, which is provides free rides for 30,000 to 40,000 passengers a day. Similarly, Boston is working on the same strategy on specific bus routes. New York’s MTA system, however, has argued that fares bring in $6 billion during a normally-functioning non-pandemic year, which are too critical to reduce or waive.
Following the experiment, the company began enforcing minor changes to the fares, such offering discounts on weekly and monthly passes for low-income riders and students in certain school districts. Students who attend L.A. Unified public schools can ride for free. In addition, Metro is also looking at other benefits from the experiment. For instance, bus drivers noticed a two-second reduction at each stop once fares were not collected, speeding up boarding by 10 percent. In terms of ecological benefits, free fares reduced the use of private cars, reducing green-house emissions in the city.
On a global scale, approximately 100 cities around the world offer free public transport, in which mostly are in Europe. Luxembourg became the first ever country to make all of its public transportation free in 2019. Prime minister Xavier Bettel and the coalition government lifted all fares on trains, trams, and buses as of summer 2020, improving long commutes and the country’s carbon footprint, as well as alleviating what's considered as one of the worst traffic congestions in the world.
Paris is also in the process of lowering the financial burden of public transport. In September 2019, free metro and bus passes were implemented across the Greater Paris region for people under 11, including non-nationals, along with free travel for people with disabilities under the age of 20. High school students between the ages of 14 and 18 receive a 50% reduction, as well as a free bike share account on the city’s Vélib system.
News via Curbed.
