Just before Christmas 2023 (December 21, 2023 to be exact) the French city of Montpellier in southern France (with a population of about 300,000 in the city itself and 813,000 in the metropolitan area) made public transport available at no cost.
According to an article in EuroNews, “Local residents get a free transport pass to use across the city’s bus and tram network through the scheme that aims to slash emissions, reduce pollution and improve accessibility.” The plan seems to be working with the number of people using public transport increasing “by 23.7 per cent in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2019.” Interestingly, municipal officials report that there has been a marked increase in journeys during off peak hours “which it believes shows people are diversifying their use of public transport for leisure and socialising.” This finding could be used to fine tune services during these off peak hours to make taking public transport to an evening or afternoon event easier and quicker. Montpellier has also increased investment in bike lanes and carpooling which also seems to be showing positive results.
Funding for the free public transport scheme as well as improvements to bike lanes has been managed by “taxes like a mobility payment from companies with more than 11 employees, money-saving efforts such as getting rid of unnecessary ticket machines and sales revenue from tickets purchased by people who don’t live in Montpellier.”
Although it differs widely from one transit system to another, the truth is that in many systems fares make up a very small percentage of revenue and actually eliminating them altogether can lead to cost savings in terms of removing ticket machines (as Montpellier did) or creating service efficiencies by allowing things like all-door boarding (because no one is paying fares).
Is there an appetite in your city or region to explore whether free transit would work for your community (or a subset of people like under 18s or seniors)? Why not share this article with elected officials and friends and neighbors?