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FACT BRIEF

Have trials of free urban public transit proved worthwhile?

Sunday, August 23, 2020
By Allegra Taylor
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NO

Fare-free policies allow transit agencies to cut operating costs associated with collecting fares as well as increase ridership.

Trials in Denver and Trenton, New Jersey, increased ridership by between 25% and 48%, but resulted in overcrowding, less reliable service and driver complaints. Officials concluded that a lowered fare would still increase ridership while lessening side effects.

For large transit systems, fares make up a significant portion of their revenue--for instance, 52% of the Washington Metro's 2017 operating costs. Austin, Texas, conducted a fare-free experiment in 1989-1990. The system faced an increase in disruptive riders and vandalism, which increased security and maintenance costs. Officials said the cost of operating the system was “staggering.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
National Academies Press: Implementation and outcomes of fare-free transit systems
Penn State: Report on fare-free transit for National Center for Transportation Research
National Association of City Transportation Officials: Report for Washington State on fare recovery rates
State of Virginia: Northern Virginia Transportation Commission report on Washington Metro performance
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.