It boosts economic opportunity and social mobility. It’s good for the environment. So why do we charge people to use it? The short answer: it’s complicated. Also: We talk to the man who gets half the nation’s mass-transit riders where they want to go (most of the time). 

SOURCES:

• Marcus Finbom, traffic planner in Stockholm, Sweden.
• Robbie Makinen, former president and C.E.O. of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.
• Janno Lieber, chair and C.E.O. of the M.T.A. in New York City.
• Brian Taylor, professor of urban planning and public policy and director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at U.C.L.A.
• Shashi Verma, director of strategy and C.T.O. at Transport for London.
• Michelle Wu, mayor of Boston.

RESOURCES:

• "Free Bus Service Starts Sunday on 5 Routes in New York City," by Ana Ley (The New York Times, 2023).
• “Vehicle Access and Falling Transit Ridership: Evidence From Southern California,” by Michael Manville, Brian D. Taylor, Evelyn Blumenberg, and Andrew Schouten (Transportation, 2023).
• “Route-28 Fare-Free Pilot Evaluation: Summary Findings,” by the City of Boston Transportation (2022).
• “Forget Fare Hikes — Make the T Free,” by Michelle Wu (The Boston Globe, 2019).
• Traffic Power Structure, by Planka.nu (2016).
• "The Impacts of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational Mobility: Childhood Exposure Effects and County-Level Estimates," by Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren (NBER Working Paper, 2015).
• "Fare, Free, or Something in Between?" by Jennifer S. Perone and Joel M. Volinski (World Transit Research, 2003).
• Planka.Nu.

EXTRAS:

• "Why Is the U.S. So Good at Killing Pedestrians?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
• "Should Public Transit Be Free?" by Freakonomics Radio (2022).
• “Should Traffic Lights Be Abolished?” by Freakonomics Radio (2021).
• “The Perfect Crime,” by Freakonomics Radio (2014).
• “Parking Is Hell,” by Freakonomics Radio (2013).