Premises and Limitations of Free Public Transport Implementation

Grzegorz Dydkowski,Jozef Gnap

doi:10.26552/com.c.2019.4.13-18

Abstract

For many years issues of the free provision of transport services, including urban public transport, were outside the main trends of transport economics considerations. However, nowadays, the discussion is ongoing related to usefulness and limitations of the free urban public transport implementation. Protection of the city environment, reduction of personal cars traffic, and increased accessibility and mobility in cities are given as premises for such solution introduction. However, assessments of introduced solutions may not necessarily confirm the assumptions made. Financial problems and those in provision of services - characteristic of goods and services provided for free - add to that. The paper has undertaken the issue related to premises and limitations related to introduction of the fare free urban public transport in regard to the pursuit of effectiveness in the public management.

Highlights

In the media, and in professional publications as well, a discussion has been carried out for a few years related to the usefulness and limitations of the free collective public transport implementation
This paper raises the issue related to premises and limitations related to introduction of a free urban public transport system; this is a view from the economy point of view and from the perspective of searching for effectiveness in the public management and in public funds spending
An increasing number of cars, in particular from mid-20th century in Western European countries, for the urban public transport meant a decline in the passengers number and this resulted in decreased ticket revenues, which over time could not cover the costs of service provision

Summary

Introduction

In professional publications as well, a discussion has been carried out for a few years related to the usefulness and limitations of the free collective public transport implementation. When making a decision on that it is necessary to consider that implementation of a free collective public transport system means reduction of funds inflowing to the urban public transport system. Because one assigns an entirely different weight to spending own funds - in a thrifty way, but much less to spending the public money Such funds originate from taxes, but at the moment of collection they lose their specific owner - obviously this is the public sector - but, as it is shown by many real life examples, the public sector manages resources in a less effective way than the private sector [2,3]. In recent years the issues of urban collective public transport tariffs, in the context of free travelling, are more and more extensively undertaken in the literature on the transport economics. This paper raises the issue related to premises and limitations related to introduction of a free urban public transport system; this is a view from the economy point of view and from the perspective of searching for effectiveness in the public management and in public funds spending

Premises for public financing of urban collective transport

Is the introduction of free urban public transport justified?

Practical dimension of free travelling

Findings

Summary