More small towns in Poland turn to #freetransit

Darmowa komunikacja miejska? Autobusy przeżywają oblężenie: "Na początku 2013 roku Europę zaszokowała stolica Estonii Tallin, która oznajmiła, że wszyscy będą tam jeździć autobusami za darmo. Tallin ma 400 tys. mieszkańców. To największe europejskie miasto, gdzie nie trzeba płacić w autobusie za bilet. W Polsce głośno jest ostatnio o Warszawie, która co prawda nie wprowadza darmowych przejazdów, ale dla każdego zameldowanego w stolicy oferuje zniżki. Na przykład za trzymiesięczny karnet na wszystkie linie komunikacji miejskiej warszawiak zapłaci 250 zł, a przyjezdny 280 zł. Za miesięczny - 98 zł zamiast 110. Ma to skłonić niezameldowanych, a mieszkających w stolicy, do meldunku i płacenia tu podatków. Ale nad Wisłą prym w darmowej komunikacji wiodą małe miasta."

Translation from https://www.facebook.com/szymon.martys

the article is about free public transport being more and more popular in Poland, it mentions Gostyń which has put in force free public transportation (for a year, but the city authorities are thinking it may be much longer) after a unanimous vote among citizens discussing the civil budget and those already known (as Ząbki, where free public transport is for inhabitants, Nysa, where it is for drivers and Kielce, where there are 2 bus free lines in the city center), but the text doesn`t mention Otmuchów (where there are now free buses from the municipality to the city center in Otmuchów and to nearby Nysa), Olkusz and the nearby municipality`s (where there is a free public transport for car drivers, similar to Nysa) and Żory (where free transport for everyone will start in May this year)

Poplular free shuttle of Cape May County New Jersey celebrates 40 years

Photo by Dale Gerhard

pressofAtlanticCity.com: "The service was started in 1973 by a small group of private citizens who purchased a surplus military bus and used their limited funding to provide elderly residents with transportation from the Villas section of Lower Township to the shopping district in Rio Grande."

Dubai free transport day cuts CO2 emissions by 10%

GulfNews.com: "Dubai: An estimated 900,000 people travelled by public transport on Friday, taking advantage of unlimited free trips to mark the fourth edition of the Roads and Transport Authority’s annual Public Transport Day.
Many roads in Dubai were free of traffic as people left their cars at home for a day to use other modes of transport, which resulted in an estimated 10 per cent reduction in Dubai’s CO2 emissions generated through vehicular traffic."

Ridership up 80% with #freetransit in Avesta, Sweden

Planka.nu: "Zero Tariff in Avesta (21,500 inhabitants), which we previously wrote about , has now been evaluated. The results are impressive: 80% more passengers, 13% of new travelers and 39% of new bus trips have replaced a drive."

Penang Hop On Free Central Area Transit (CAT)

Penang Hop On Free Central Area Transit (CAT): "Visitors to Penang can now enjoy a bus ride within George Town, the UNESCO World Heritage City, for FREE."

Free is cheaper. Hasselt was able to lower taxes after implementing #freetransit

CarFree Times Issue 7: "The Fall, 1997, issue of Carfree Times reported that Hasselt, Belgium, had made its bus system free. The mayor rejected plans for a third ring highway, converted one existing ring highway into a pedestrian and bicycle street, and made the buses free. Since then, bus ridership has increased by 800%. This initiative has been so successful in attracting new business to Hasselt that taxes have been cut and the city's debt is down. To celebrate the first anniversary of the changes, the mayor announced free bicycles. One of the reasons the measure was adopted was a shortage of funds - the city did not have enough money to expand its roads. Free buses were a cheaper alternative, and it worked. The city had been slowly losing population, but since the new measures were adopted, population has been rising 25 times faster than it had been shrinking."

'via Blog this'

The moving revolution: Venezuela's free public transport

The moving revolution: Venezuela's free public transport: "Merida, capital city of the province of Merida (population 843,880) has been offering fare-free trolley bus services for six years."