Dr. Ahmed Professor

Many cities are now considering whether to make public transport free at the point of use, funding it from general taxation instead of fares. Supporters argue this reduces car traffic and helps low-income residents. Critics argue the money would do more good if it were spent improving service frequency and coverage. Before our next class, I'd like to hear your view: should cities make public transport free, or should they invest that money in better service?

Claire Student

I would make it free. The people who most need to get across a city are exactly the people for whom two or three dollars a day is a real constraint, and every study of fare-free systems I have seen shows ridership rising fastest among low-income users. There is also something to be said for simplicity: no ticketing, no fare enforcement, no fines that fall hardest on those who can least afford them.

Diego Student

I take Claire's point about fairness, but I think it answers the wrong question. In my city the problem is not that the bus costs two dollars, it is that it comes every forty minutes and stops running at nine. Making that bus free does not make it useful. I would rather see the money spent on frequency, because a bus every ten minutes changes how people plan their lives in a way that a free ticket does not.

Your professor is teaching a class on urban planning. Write a post responding to the professor's question. In your response you should express and support your opinion, and make a contribution to the discussion in your own words.

An effective response will contain at least 100 words.