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by atwood22 1386 days ago
> - public transportation being free also means that it will be used even in cases where it is both economically and ecologically a suboptimal solution. This is a problem because more usage means higher costs. E.g. someone now might take a bus instead of cycling.

That’s really reaching. Presumably people would do the thing that bear fits their circumstances after weighing the costs and benefits.

3 comments

To back GP's point, see this study. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Free-Fares-Policies%3A...

For instance in Estonia, the majority of "switchers" were cyclists and pedestrians.

So if the cost changed to zero, and the benefit stayed the same, would that not change the "best fit"?
I have a bus pass for my city giving me unlimited use all year round, and the service is excellent, a stop right outside my house with buses every 5-10 mins, I still walk a lot, but I do like the option of jumping on the bus if the weather is bad, or I'm just lazy