[…]Going fare-free has accomplished little in Tallinn. Transit’s share of local commutes has fallen steadily over the past decade, particularly among those with low incomes. Residents today own more automobiles and are more likely to drive than ever before.
“It’s been a relatively useless policy,” Mari Jussi, a sustainable mobility advisor to the Estonian Transport Administration, told me in a café on a windswept cobblestone street. “People here are still shifting to cars.”
When I asked Jussi what advice she would offer American policymakers who want to improve transit service, she had a ready answer: “Any extra money should be put toward transit service, and not zero fares,” she replied. “Transit’s price is not a barrier for most people. It’s service quality and speed of the trip.”
This reflects my experience with public transport here. Two years ago, the local government got funding for a pilot program to cap the cost of a bus ticket at £2 per ticket (or £5 per day or £20 per week, whichever came out the cheapest). As this came at the same time as reducing or cutting many routes, the cheaper tickets hasn’t really encouraged that many people to use the bus more. If a bus only comes through my village once every 90 minutes, and takes almost an hour to get into town, during which I’ll be harassed by weirdos trying to sell me drugs, the fact that it only costs £2 each way is not the main barrier to use. By having a car, I can drive into town (a 10-15 minute journey) at a time that suits my schedule, come home when I’m done (instead of having to wait up to 90 minutes for the return bus), and there are no drug dealers in my car either. These are all things that make the expense of a car worth it.