Free bus rides have minimal impact

TALLINN - A fresh study indicates that introduction of free public transport in Estonia’s capital Tallinn barely increased the number of passengers, while special bus lanes and more frequent bus scheduling had a more noticeable effect on the passenger numbers, reports Eesti Paevaleht.

Eesti Paevaleht writes that Swedish Royal Technical University scientist Dr. Oded Cats and his two colleagues completed a study on the use of free public transport in Tallinn and it shows that free public transport has attracted a minimum amount of new passengers. The number grew most in the Lasnamae city district, by over 10 percent.

The 12 million euros of deprived ticket income has yielded just a 1.2 percent increase in the number of bus passengers. Special bus lanes and schedules have yielded 2.8 percent new passengers, the study indicated.
Tallinn introduced free public transport this year.