IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/transp/v47y2020i6d10.1007_s11116-019-09986-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why (not) abolish fares? Exploring the global geography of fare-free public transport

Author

Listed:
  • Wojciech Kębłowski

    (Vrije Universiteit Brussel
    Université Libre de Bruxelles)

Abstract

Although the policy of abolishing fares in public transport—here referred to as “fare-free public transport” (FFPT)—exists in nearly 100 localities worldwide, it has not been thoroughly researched. To start filling this gap, I enhance the conceptual clarity about fare abolition. I start by providing a definition of FFPT, discussing its different forms, and introducing a distinction between “partial” FFPT and—the main focus of the paper—“full” FFPT. Next, I distinguish three perspectives on full FFPT—first, approaches that assess fare abolition primarily against its economic impact; second, analyses that look at its contribution to “sustainable” development; third, more critical arguments highlighting its politically transformative and socially just potential. Against the background of this debate I offer the most comprehensive inventory of full FFPT programmes to date, and begin to chart and examine their global geography. As a result, FFPT emerges as a policy that takes diverse forms and exists in diverse locations. Supported and contested by diverse rationales, it cannot be analysed as transport instrument alone.

Suggested Citation

  • Wojciech Kębłowski, 2020. "Why (not) abolish fares? Exploring the global geography of fare-free public transport," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 2807-2835, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:47:y:2020:i:6:d:10.1007_s11116-019-09986-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-019-09986-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11116-019-09986-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11116-019-09986-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Oded Cats & Yusak O. Susilo & Triin Reimal, 2017. "The prospects of fare-free public transport: evidence from Tallinn," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(5), pages 1083-1104, September.
    2. van Goeverden, Cees & Rietveld, Piet & Koelemeijer, Jorine & Peeters, Paul, 2006. "Subsidies in public transport," European Transport \ Trasporti Europei, ISTIEE, Institute for the Study of Transport within the European Economic Integration, issue 32, pages 5-25.
    3. Verlinghieri, Ersilia & Venturini, Federico, 2018. "Exploring the right to mobility through the 2013 mobilizations in Rio de Janeiro," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 126-136.
    4. Joe Grengs, 2005. "The abandoned social goals of public transit in the neoliberal city of the USA," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 51-66, April.
    5. AfDB AfDB, . "Annual Report 2012," Annual Report, African Development Bank, number 461.
    6. Banister, David, 2008. "The sustainable mobility paradigm," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 73-80, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Santos, Georgina & Behrendt, Hannah & Teytelboym, Alexander, 2010. "Part II: Policy instruments for sustainable road transport," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 46-91.
    2. Urbanek, Anna, 2021. "Potential of modal shift from private cars to public transport: A survey on the commuters’ attitudes and willingness to switch – A case study of Silesia Province, Poland," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    3. repec:hal:journl:hal-03403442 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Verlinghieri, Ersilia, 2020. "Learning from the grassroots: A resourcefulness-based worldview for transport planning," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 364-377.
    5. Wojciech Kȩbłowski & Tauri Tuvikene & Tarmo Pikner & Jussi S Jauhiainen, 2019. "Towards an urban political geography of transport: Unpacking the political and scalar dynamics of fare-free public transport in Tallinn, Estonia," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 37(6), pages 967-984, September.
    6. Krzysztof Grzelec & Aleksander Jagiełło, 2020. "The Effects of the Selective Enlargement of Fare-Free Public Transport," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-18, August.
    7. Andor, Mark Andreas & Dehos, Fabian & Gillingham, Kenneth & Hansteen, Sven & Tomberg, Lukas, 2023. "Public transport pricing: An evaluation of the 9-Euro Ticket and an alternative policy proposal," Ruhr Economic Papers 1045, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    8. Boussauw, Kobe & Vanoutrive, Thomas, 2017. "Transport policy in Belgium: Translating sustainability discourses into unsustainable outcomes," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 11-19.
    9. Kębłowski, Wojciech & Van Criekingen, Mathieu & Bassens, David, 2019. "Moving past the sustainable perspectives on transport: An attempt to mobilise critical urban transport studies with the right to the city," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 24-34.
    10. David Gray & Richard Laing & Iain Docherty, 2017. "Delivering lower carbon urban transport choices: European ambition meets the reality of institutional (mis)alignment," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(1), pages 226-242, January.
    11. Daniel Štraub, 2020. "The Effects of Fare-Free Public Transport: A Lesson from Frýdek-Místek (Czechia)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-15, November.
    12. Busch-Geertsema, Annika & Lanzendorf, Martin & Klinner, Nora, 2021. "Making public transport irresistible? The introduction of a free public transport ticket for state employees and its effects on mode use," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 249-261.
    13. Wojciech Kębłowski, 2023. "Degrowth is coming to town: What can it learn from critical perspectives on urban transport?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(7), pages 1249-1265, May.
    14. Craig Garthwaite & Tal Gross & Matthew J. Notowidigdo, 2014. "Public Health Insurance, Labor Supply, and Employment Lock," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 653-696.
    15. Tarek Roshdy Gebba & Mohamed Gamal Aboelmaged, 2016. "Corporate Governance of UAE Financial Institutions: A Comparative Study between Conventional and Islamic Banks," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 6(5), pages 1-7.
    16. Saujot, Mathieu & Lefèvre, Benoit, 2016. "The next generation of urban MACCs. Reassessing the cost-effectiveness of urban mitigation options by integrating a systemic approach and social costs," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 124-138.
    17. Clarete, Ramon L. & Villamil, Isabela Rosario G., 2015. "Readiness of the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries Sectors for the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community: A Rapid Appraisal," Research Paper Series DP 2015-43, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    18. Li, Xi & Yu, Biying, 2019. "Peaking CO2 emissions for China's urban passenger transport sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    19. Emanuel, Elizabeth & Alleyne, Dillon & Phillips, Willard, 2013. "An assessment of fiscal and regulatory barriers to the deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Saint Lucia," Sede Subregional de la CEPAL para el Caribe (Estudios e Investigaciones) 38502, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    20. Cristian Pana, 2013. "The National Central Bank’S Management Of Reserve Requirements," Working papers 16, Ecological University of Bucharest, Department of Economics.
    21. Thomas Vanoutrive & Ann Verhetsel, 2013. "Classifying transport studies using three dimensions of society: market structure, sustainability and decision making," Chapters, in: Thomas Vanoutrive & Ann Verhetsel (ed.), Smart Transport Networks, chapter 1, pages 1-8, Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:47:y:2020:i:6:d:10.1007_s11116-019-09986-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.