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:great!

[luvirini]

Given their fairly low homelessness rate (about 1/3 of US) that is not such a pressing need as it would be in some other places.

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: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.

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?

Re:Once more, with emphasis

[drinkypoo]

In Europe things are a big different and folks from all economic levels take buses. I used to work in Walldorf, Germany . . . home to SAP. Those well earning folks would take a train from scenic Heidelberg to Walldorf, and then jump on a public bus to SAP.

In the USA, I don't want to take a bus, because they are dirty boxes filled with filthy heathens. When I was in Panama, I used buses more than rental cars or taxis. People were in general quite polite and helpful there, and their long-distance buses were universally nicer than Greyhounds. It's not that I'm allergic to buses. I just know what being on them is like in this country, and I'm not interested. I grew up riding the bus everywhere to which I didn't bike or walk, because we were poor AF. Miss me with that shit.

Unexpected as it may be - it works

[rkordmaa]

Homeless shelters on wheels, decreasing quality, running out of money... all things that were expected when this was implemented in Tallinn. None of that actually happened, it worked out great. Buses are on time, go pretty much everywhere and are as clean as ever, it totally works. Mind you, this scheme was cooked up by a political party I otherwise despise, I guess even a blind man hits a bulls-eye every now and then. Of course, its not free as air, its just payed out of your taxes, but as far as use of your taxes go - it's a pretty good one.

You need to keep in mind that setting aside who pays for it, public transportation is just cheaper than a car in every way. You need less infrastructure and roads are expensive, a bus just takes less room than equivalent amount of cars, on roads and on parking lots. A bus itself is cheaper than equivalent number of cars, as Estonia has to import both, public transport is good for import/export balance. Buses use less fuel per passenger than cars, again something you don't need to import as much. And the improved air quality is worth something too.

From state perspective, more public transport is a very good thing and if done right its pretty convenient for a citizen too. You can look at it as extra tax on car owners, not a very big tax at that.