Free Public Transit

And Why We Don't Pay to Ride Elevators

Jason Prince, Judith Dellheim, Jason Prince, Judith Dellheim

• Publisher: Black Rose Books
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781551646572
  9781551646596
• eBook ISBN:
  9781551646619
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Just like we don't pay to use elevators, this book argues that we shouldn't pay to ride public transit. In an age of increasing inequalities and ecological crisis, movements advocating free public transit push us to rethink the status quo and consider urban transit as a fundamental human right. Editors Jason Prince and Judith Dellheim have collected a panorama of case studies from around the world: the United States, Canada, Estonia, Greece, France, Italy, Sweden, Poland, China, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and more. These movements are spread across the world, and they aim to achieve two main outcomes—ecological good and fair wealth distribution. Free public transit—coupled with increased capacity and improving service of public transit—might well be the only viable strategy to eliminating car usage and achieving greenhouse gas targets in industrialized cities within a reasonable timeframe. Movements for free mass transit also aim to see public transit treated as a public good, like water and garbage service, that should be paid for out of general tax revenues or a fairer regional tax strategy. This book covers the rapidly changing transport options in cities today, including bike and car share options, Uber and Lyft, and the imminent arrival of driver-less vehicles. The first English-language book ever written on the subject, Free Public Transit is a ground breaking book for those concerned about the future of our cities and an essential resource for those who make, or try to change, urban planning and transport policies.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction to the Second Edition
• Introduction to the First Edition
• Free Public Transit: Scopeand Definitions
• The Transport Spectrum and Vectorsof Change
• The Political Economy of Transport
• Bologna’s Traffic Policy: “Free fares were just the beginning”
• Learning from Red Bologna
• Jamming Fare Boxes in Montreal
• Belgium: Ending the Car Siege in Hasselt
• Tallinn: Estonia Leads the Way with Free Public Transit
• Poland: Take Your Potted Plant to Town
• France: A “New May 1968” in Aubagne?
• Sweden: Jumping Turnstiles with Planka.nu
• Toronto: Challenging the Impossible
• The US: Seeking Transit Justice from Seattle to NYC
• Germany: Europe’s “Car Country” is Turning on its Head
• Greece: Automobiles or Public Transport?
• Brazil: From Dream to Nightmare
• Riding for Free in a Chinese Metropolis
• Value Capture: Linking Public Transport to Land Value
• Concluding Remarks
• Notes on the Contributors