Estonia To Become the World's First Free Public Transport Nation (citylab.com)

On July 1st, the country of Estonia will create the largest 24/7 free public transit zone in the world, making it feasibly possible to travel by bus from one end of the 1.3 million-strong Baltic nation to the other without paying a cent. CityLab reports: Estonia is already a world leader in free public transit: In 2013, all public transit in its capital, Tallinn, became free to local residents (but not tourists or other visitors, even those from other parts of the country). The new national free-ride scheme with extend this model even further, making all state-run bus travel in rural municipalities free and extending cost-free transit out from the capital into other regions. The plan will not, however, extend Tallinn's existing free public transit policies to other Estonian cities, and it also won't make riding Tallinn transit free to visitors (at least, not initially). So while most of the country's land area and population -- which is overwhelmingly concentrated around Tallinn -- should get fare-free daily lives, it's not precisely the case that no Estonian will ever buy a bus ticket in their own country again. Further reading: Pop-Up City

Comments

Re:Once more, with emphasis

[Anonymous Coward]

Most probably not. My bet is that they are IYI's who might know what a few parts cost but neither have any idea of how these parts interact with the whole, nor the cost of denying people who aren't fortunate to be able to afford the thing directly. IOW, stupid twats who can't think any further than their own wallet and the immediate future, like the next two seconds.

"Conservative: prick, selfish, reactionary, regressive, hypocrite, bigoted, narrow-minded, useless".

Re:I guess it depends on what you mean by free

[JaredOfEuropa]

Modern cars do not produce all that much smog. In the old days, most smog came from wood or coal fueled furnaces, and these days open fires, fireplaces and BBQs produce more fine particulates than cars (esp. in countries that prefer gasoline over diesel, but even modern diesels are pretty clean). Even when measuring local air conditions, cars aren't that much of an issue anymore in the majority of cases.