Free fare for better air? Evaluating the impacts of free fare public transit on air pollution

Grant Webster

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2024, vol. 184, issue C

Abstract: Due to the positive externalities of public transit, fares have been heavily subsidized throughout the United States and the world. Policymakers have designed these subsidies as a potential mechanism to reduce local air pollution. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of free-fare public transit subsidies in reducing air pollution. Studying the “Zero Fare for Better Air” initiative, I find no significant decrease in ground-level ozone due to free-fare public transit in Colorado. This paper also demonstrates how the free-fare initiative failed to improve welfare even when incorporating all the positive externalities of transit ridership.

Keywords: Free-fare public transit; Air pollution; Environmental policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2024.104076

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