> Plenty of people in major cities across the globe are fighting for free mass transit. I never understood why. This study from Talinn, Estonia[1] shows that t

> Plenty of people in major cities across the globe are fighting for free mass transit. I never understood why. This study from Talinn, Estonia[1] shows that the overall impact on passenger numbers was very small (+1.2% increase) and that most of it is due to a decrease in pedestrian traffic and bicycle use. > And if you reverse the situation, and imagine a city with free public transit that is then considering adding a fare to it, said fare would be extremely regressive and would hit the worst off the hardest. Personally, I believe that cash transfers are more ethical and less paternalistic than in-kind benefits, but if you want, you can still give poor people a high discount on public transport or simply limit free public transport to poor people. [1] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Oded_Cats/publication/266262692_Public_Transport_Pricing_Policy_-_Empirical_Evidence_from_a_Fare-Free_Scheme_in_Tallinn_Estonia/links/5ba2672f92851ca9ed15bc0c/Public-Transport-Pricing-Policy-Empirical-Evidence-from-a-Fare-Free-Scheme-in-Tallinn-Estonia.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Oded_Cats/publication/2...