Free public transport in Europe: Is the social experiment working or is it just a gimmick?

Luxembourg and some European cities and towns have scrapped fares on public transport. Has it had the benefits they hoped for?

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#Mobility

[realhawaiio]

It's great here in Tallinn. I pay 0€ for any central zone travel, and anywhere in Harju County I can travel for very cheap too. BUT, you need to always validate your green transport card ticket because it's for residents only (like myself).
As for Luxemburg, I used it when I had the German 9€ ticket to visit Luxemburg. It was quite nice as well, especially because it's not for residents, but for everyone.

[yusufkozan]

I live in Kocaeli, Turkey. Only on national and religious holidays, the public transport is free. And the ridership on those days skyrocket. Some buses which have little ridership on regular days go full on those holidays.

[drakehound]

I could have told you that result easily, you want to promote Public Transport, just increase the TAX on Cars that it becomes a Luxury item.. still people would buy cars to show off that they are better off then their neighbour. but the most sensible will start using public transport till they can afford the tax monthly on the cars.

[nua]

I have asthma, so improving the interior air quality on rush hour public transport is the most important factor. As otherwise I cannot use it, because of the risk of the poor air quality triggering an asthma attack or catching a respiratory infection.

The last time I used a packed commuter train, it took two days to recover from the asthma attack it triggered

[robertskolimowski]

Bravo👏, do hope it catches on in more and more countries🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻✌

[Hans-qt]

I like this idea and I think that public transportation must be free in all the countries because it is a necessity, not a luxury. Even the company owners would benefit because their employees would arrive on time. There are other countries where the government doesn't invest in public transport because they want to force people to buy cars. Politicians waste a lot of money on every presidential election, so they definitely have the money to make public transportation free.

[smimtiaz]

Omg...lots of European countries make attempt to give free transport to all of their people who are also start to give free health service which help them to travel more across Europe which help them to enjoy more & moreover, lots of European countries have given free housing to it's people which make their lives more & more enjoyable without tension which proving United States of Europe =USE which could be a dreamland for their people at where they will be able to enjoy a lot

[Duck-wcde]

If you are an urban resident, probably richer on average than the rest of the country, and have the luck of living and working less than 15 minutes away from a station that has frequent and reliable service, than yes, you will be benefited by free public transportation.

But are you the one that actually needs to recieve benefits for the taxes the rest of the (less wealthy) country pays?

Free public transportation is a shamefull wealth transfer from the average poorest to those that live in the wealthier reagions

In europe, public transportation is already subsidized, its prices are low already in most cases, if peopel dont use it, its because they can't:

-because they live to far away
-because they work to far away
- because it's slow
-because it doesnt get them where they need to go
-because tranfers arent well designed

[donkeyiaiaia]

Estonia lives on subsidies from the EU. So, when a German pays for a bus fare, he also pays for a resident of Tallinn. Kick Estonia out of the EU and they will ride horses like they did 100 years ago.