Monday, January 23, 2017

Why does Paris choose bureaucracy over free transport?

Paris pollution prompts first vehicle ban under new sticker system - The Local: "The "Crit'Air" stickers - which have been rolled out over the past six months - will come into play for the first time on Monday as pollution levels peak again."
Paris has dropped free public transport as a way to fight pollution and instead adopted a complex bureaucratic sticker system and divisive road closures.

Why? Simple answer. Free public transport promotes degrowth. People might decide they like it and are willing to "pay" for it. Which they could do without a tax increase. The cost reductions in parking, congestion, health, collisions, carbon emissions, etc would easily outweigh the "lost" fares.