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]

Once more, with emphasis:

Conservatives know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

I guess it depends on what you mean by free

[rsilvergun]

if having unlimited access to transport without having to pay for it and clean air as a result of more efficient transport pays for the cost of the transportation in increased productivity and health outcomes (all that smog from personal cars is a big impact on heart health) then yes, in a sense it's "free".

Yes, everything has a cost. We're not Gods and we can't make matter and energy from nothing. But you need to consider the costs of the alternatives and that in many cases the alternatives are inevitable. It's like the American Healthcare system. We're gonna spend an extra $17 trillion on our private employer funded healthcare vs single payer in the next 10 years (much of that profits for Pharmaceuticals & health insurance companies). We could pay off the national _debt_ with that kind of dough...

Re:Once more, with emphasis

[drinkypoo]

Conservatives know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

If the price doesn't reflect the value then you're doing it wrong.

If you don't know what the value is, how could you possibly determine whether the value is accurately reflected by the price?