Two weeks fare-free in Sweden can take 30,000 cars off the road

A new ad campaign for Swedish public transit service Västtrafik turns toy cars into an imposing illustration of the 30,000 vehicles that could be removed from the road through a current promotion offering drivers in the region free bus transport for two weeks. 

Removing 30,000 cars from the roads of western Sweden would amount to a 15% reduction in daily car commuters, a stat that creative agency Forsman & Bodenfors chose to represent through miniature cars. The result of the intricately assembled ad concept is a spot that shows the scope of what could be accomplished with the promotion:

https://www.adweek.com/creativity/30000-toy-cars-illustrate-how-mass-transit-could-dramatically-reduce-traffic/ 

Enemies of fare-free #publictransport, and what they say

It has to be one of the hardest jobs in the world... coming up with arguments against fare-free public transportation. They can't say there is no money anymore, because it is becoming widely known that fossil-fuels are being subsidized at USD 10M per minute.

Frédéric Héran, a transport economist says:

When mayor Anne Hidalgo suggested she would look at scrapping fares, Frédéric Héran, a transport economist, said the measure “made no sense”.

“Who will the new public transport users be?” he asked. “All studies have shown they will be cyclists, then pedestrians and very few motorists. This clearly shows it’s an anti-cycling, anti-pedestrian measure and not very discouraging to cars.” 

The experience in Dunkirk shows this to be false.

An academic study on the experience shows that bus use has skyrocketed more than 60% on weekdays and more than doubled on weekends, with 48% of users saying they now leave their cars at home. Furthermore, 5% of those surveyed said they have sold their car or decided not to purchase a second vehicle.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/enriquedans/2019/09/15/is-free-public-transport-in-cities-the-wayforward/#5510baba00ee 

LA GRATUITÉ C’EST POSSIBLE

La gratuité des transports en commun est déjà instaurée dans une trentaine d’agglomérations en France (par exemple, Aubagne, Dunkerque) et des dizaines d’autres dans le monde. D’autres la prévoient ou lancent des études. En Estonie, après la capitale Tallinn, la gratuité s’étend à tout le territoire. Au Luxembourg, tous les transports en commun (bus, tram, train) seront gratuits en 2020. Toutes les expériences montrent que la gratuité, associée à une augmentation de l’offre, entraîne systématiquement une forte hausse de l’usage des transports en commun.

http://reseau-gratuite-transports.org/?p=72 

Ridership soars with fare-free buses in Tartu County, Estonia

Since the introduction of free public transport in Tartu County last July, the number of bus passengers on county routes has seen significant growth, regional Tartu Postimees reports.

A total of 131,269 passengers used the free regional bus service in July 2018, up 35.2 percent on year from 97,083 in July 2017, Tartu County Public Transport Centre management board member Tõnis Piir said. This July, the number of passengers using the county's free transport totaled 153,049, indicating a further 16.6 percent growth on year in ridership.

https://news.err.ee/973636/free-public-transport-in-tartu-county-sees-ridership-soar