The city of Alexandria, in the United States, has an almost dreamy bus system: buses run at short intervals, usually arrive with vacant seats, keep the air conditioning at a pleasant temperature — and they’re free.
The municipality of 154,000 inhabitants, 10 km from Washington, received funding from the Virginia government to test the zero-tariff model for three years. The initiative started in September 2021 and has had good results: the system has recovered 95% of the passenger volume it had before the pandemic.
In the US, even with the reopening of activities, public transport continues with lower demand. Across the country, trains and buses received, on average, 17.2 million users per day in the second quarter of 2022. The number is 60% of the number recorded before the start of the health crisis; in the same period of 2019, the average was 27.7 million per day, according to APTA (American Public Transportation Association). The phenomenon is also seen in Brazil.
So several American cities are experimenting with the tariff to try to lure the public back. In Boston, three bus lines have had zero fares since March and will stay that way until at least 2024. In Washington, there are cheaper fares on weekends. In New York, if a user makes 12 trips in seven days or spends more than US$ 33 (R$ 171) in fares, the rest of the trips during the week will be free — there is no need to register, just use the same payment method each time. sometimes, whether it’s a transport card, bank card or cell phone.
In Alexandria, however, the government realized that the free fare alone would not be enough to attract passengers and made changes to routes and the number of vehicles. It worked. When the reporter was in town, it was rare to see people for more than five minutes at the point.
“If a person leaves home and knows they will take the bus in 10 or 15 minutes, they are willing to wait. If it takes 20 or 30 minutes, no. Bus frequency is a very important point for success”, explains Canek Aguirre. , city councilor (position equivalent to councilor) and one of the creators of the initiative.
The change in routes also sought to prioritize care for the elderly, minorities (such as immigrants) and low-income people. The city also wants buses to help people do other tasks throughout the day. “We are trying to change the mentality of taking people from home to work and vice versa. They have other things to do: go to the doctor, to the market, to pick up the children.”
The son of Mexican immigrants, Aguirre used public transport a lot as a child in Los Angeles, paying at the time US$ 0.25 (R$ 1.29 in the current exchange rate) per trip, and he felt the difference when he was able to use free buses in the days of university. A Democrat, he was sworn in as Alexandria councilor in 2018 and joined regional transportation councils.
In the midst of the health crisis, the federal government and states began to give money to pay for transport system operations, such as paying fuel and drivers’ salaries. Before, investments were concentrated in one-off expenses, such as the purchase of new vehicles and road works. As a result, cities were able to keep fleets running and think of new models.
The free rate in Alexandria is funded by a state program, which seeks to prove whether the idea can work in practice. Aguirre points out that the annual cost to keep Alexandria’s 11 lines operating free of charge is about US$25 million — 3% of the municipal budget. After the test is over, it will be necessary to debate whether the expenditure can actually be incorporated into public accounts, to be paid through taxes, or whether there will be another source of funds.
Alexandria has conditions that make it suitable for the experiment: it is small, but dense: it was founded in 1749, when the US was still a British colony, and it maintains an old-fashioned look, with narrow streets and low houses, one next to the other. In larger cities, the free fare is a broader challenge, as maintaining transportation systems to transport millions of people a day demands much higher expenses. And it is necessary to face issues such as traffic and lack of physical space for interventions.
Eric Goldwyn, professor of urbanism and transportation at New York University, remembers that metropolises that tested the zero fare ended up seeing a social issue superimpose the experiment. “Homeless people rode buses all day, generating complaints and serving as a disincentive to other potential passengers. Our cities are not doing good social work.”
He puts the question, then, in perspective. “If you’re going to spend a few million dollars for free buses, you could use that money and the millions raised from the fare to buy more vehicles and do other things,” he says. “Money is better spent if it’s used to create a more frequent and reliable service, which can give discounts to some audiences.”
The adoption of zero tariff in metropolises also comes up against the need for broad political agreements, involving municipalities and, sometimes, even neighboring states. The Washington metropolitan area, for example, is divided between the District of Columbia and the states of Maryland and Virginia, and is served by a partially integrated bus and subway system. So while Alexandria is less than ten stations away from the White House, the chance that this trip will be free seems a long way off.
Asked about the possibility, Aguirre sighs. “There’s nothing I’d love more than a free subway system. I don’t think we’re anywhere near that. But could there be a future for this? Absolutely.”
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
