HighlightsRegistered residents of Tallinn, Estonia, are eligible for unlimited pre-paid transit.Since 2013, €15 million annually from tax revenue funds fareless public transport.Modest transit ridership increases accompanied little change in metropolitan travel.Transit ridership increase was lowest among working-age commuters, a target group.Implementation was highly politicized and the program is misaligned with stated goals.

    AbstractAmong many possible interventions in public transport finance and policy designed to enhance the attractiveness of riding public transport, one of the most extreme, which is seldom implemented, is the elimination of passenger fares, effectively making public transport “free” for riders (with operating costs paid from other funding sources). This article describes a fare-free public transport program in Tallinn, Estonia, launched in 2013, which has exhibited lower-than-expected increases in ridership. Evaluations of Tallinn’s fare-free public transport program are presented and synthesized, with a focus on program goals and how goals are met through program performance. Findings suggest certain flaws limit the program’s potential success since the program design is misaligned with its primary stated goals, and several program goals relating to external effects of fare reform cannot be evaluated. Although it would be valuable for transport managers in other cities to learn about this experience, the Tallinn fare-free public transport program provides scant transferable evidence about how such a program can operate outside of a politicized context, which was crucial to its implementation in Estonia.


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    Title :

    Decrypting fare-free public transport in Tallinn, Estonia


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    2017-10-03


    Size :

    9 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




    The prospects of fare-free public transport: evidence from Tallinn

    Cats, Oded / Susilo, Yusak O. / Reimal, Triin | Online Contents | 2016


    The prospects of fare-free public transport: evidence from Tallinn

    Cats, Oded / Susilo, Yusak O. / Reimal, Triin | Online Contents | 2016

    Free access

    Erratum to: The prospects of fare-free public transport: evidence from Tallinn

    Cats, Oded / Susilo, Yusak O. / Reimal, Triin | Online Contents | 2017


    Erratum to: The prospects of fare-free public transport: evidence from Tallinn

    Cats, Oded / Susilo, Yusak O. / Reimal, Triin | Online Contents | 2017