50 cents, 0 cents, 1 question: how much can fare cuts boost public transport use?
50 cents, 0 cents, 1 question: how much can fare cuts boost public transport use?
Between them, the Queensland and ACT trials of almost free and free public transport could change how fares are set in Australia.
If businesses had to pay for their employees’ trips to work, it would be free in no time.
In major metro areas like NYC, many companies pay for employees’ commute or at least subsidize it to some extent.
ALAKAZAM! Suddenly, your MetroNorth/ConnRail/NJT ride is tax deductible.
Fun fact: the capital of Canada is trying the reverse: raise fares, cut service, and successfully lobby the government to force public servants into the office 3 days+ per week in the hopes of boosting public transport use. Let’s see who’s successful.
From a same experience going in Poland for around 35 years i can say that it won't boost very much. It is just gouging people who can't afford a car or can't drive for various reasons. Or alternatively they want to do typical liberal thing and chase people out of it and then announce nobody is using it and then liquidate. Again same as in many cases in Poland.
In Ottawa, people who don’t have cars and rely on the public transit are motivated to buy cars because of how poorly it runs and how inconsistently it runs.
Our brand new very expensive light rail train has issues with the wheels staying circular and operating below 0 C. It goes down to -30C pretty regularly there.