Fare-free means that there are no fees for riders at all; anyone can get on and ride whenever they want. It’s that simple!

Video from AthensPoliticsNerd.com

Cities that provide fare-free transit include some far-off destinations such as Tallinn, capital of Estonia, and others much closer to home like Clemson, SC, and Chapel Hill, NC. These cities understand that, as a society, we choose to hold some resources in common for all people to share. For example, no one is charged to walk down the sidewalk, no one pays to check out a book from the public library, and our children do not directly pay for their education or to be bused to school; any other way would be unthinkable to us. Likewise, as drivers we are not charged when we drive down a road, even though the tax on gasoline does not come close to covering our road and bridge repair needs.

Public transportation should be no different, especially since a number of social benefits are gained the more people use it instead of driving.

What are the benefits?

UGA Transit has been fare-free for decades and would never go back to charging a fare. There are so many riders on campus that if each student took the time to dig in their pockets for change, they’d all be late to class. It’s much more efficient to open both doors, let everyone on quickly, and pay for the system through student fees.

There are many other benefits to fare-free transit beyond speed and efficiency.

The Right to Mobility

We live in such a car-centric culture that sometimes we forget the people who either can’t afford a car or who aren’t able to drive. We in A4E believe that all have a right to mobility regardless of documentation status, age, poor eyesight or other disability, or even ability to pay. Fare-free transportation would ease the burden of living in poverty, and in a town with a 38% poverty rate that’s not something we can take lightly.

Economic Growth

Focusing on the needs of those on the bottom rungs of our society has another benefit beyond knowing that we’re doing the right thing: economic growth.

Relying on public transportation is much cheaper than taxi service and far cheaper than owning a car, nevertheless those fares add up. Riding twice a day at $1.75 per trip would cost $1,277 yearly. When passes are purchased at the bulk rate, riding twice a day would still cost $1,029. Someone living below the poverty line could easily spend 10% or more of their yearly income on bus passes.

If we instead let bus riders keep this money, they will certainly spend more at local shops which will grow our economy, helping everyone. Not only are we ensuring people get to the grocery store, with fare-free transit we’re also making sure they have a little extra money in their pockets when they arrive. Local and state governments will also benefit because they split our 8% sales tax, each raking in 4% of each new transaction.

The American Public Transportation Association estimates that every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic returns. This means public transportation is an excellent investment and a driver of local economies.

Lower Costs and Increased Ridership

One of the most important metrics used by transit systems to judge their own performance is cost per rider. Those who oppose fare-free service are also the first to stress the importance of reducing taxpayer subsidy per rider. These people complain about night and weekend service because ridership is lower at these times, meaning that taxpayers have to pay more for each rider who does end up using the service.

Certainly we agree that, all things being equal, a more efficient transit system is better than a less efficient one. We’ve got good news! Fare-free bus service greatly increases ridership wherever it is tried. The boost varies but is normally between 20% and 80%, according to the National Center for Transit Research.

Ditching the fare-box also gets rid of the expenses needed to collect fares, which are substantial. In Athens, money counting, ticket printing, auditing, fare-box purchase and repair cost at least $150,000 a year: 19.6% of the money collected from fares (Athens Transit Director Butch McDuffie, personal communication).

The graph measuring the cost from the Athens-Clarke County General Fund only is a bit different.

By increasing ridership and decreasing costs associated with collecting fares, going fare-free helps both sides of the cost per rider metric and would reduce taxpayer subsidy per rider. If your main interest is a more efficient system that makes better use of taxpayer dollars, then fare-free is for you.

Increased ridership brings with it several additional benefits, especially if some of these extra riders were people who would have otherwise driven a car. Those benefits include: lower carbon emissions, less need for parking, less traffic and improved public health. You can read more about them here.

Social Justice

It’s important to note that about 60% of Athens Transit riders already ride free because they are associated with UGA. Athens Transit doesn’t keep track of demographic info on riders, but national statistics show that transit users have lower incomes overall and are more likely to be people of color. Why should they be the only people who pay a fare? Why do we accept that our local government is spending our tax dollars to purchase expensive fare-boxes whose function is essentially to extract money from low-income black people? In so doing, our transit system operates less efficiently, economic growth is depressed, pollution and traffic are increased, and our health suffers. All for $615,000 a year. Is it worth it?

Can we afford it?

Yes, we can afford a fare-free transportation system that works for everyone. For the 2018 budget, our local government cut support to Athens Transit by $734,000. Interestingly, the amount cut is nearly the same as it would cost to implement fare-free service. At the same time, total local government revenues increased $16.8 million over the last fiscal year.

Why was Athens Transit’s budget cut in a time of economic growth and increasing budgets? The local government feels that transit should be self-sustaining, and only provides money as a last-resort to keep the system functioning. One of the Transit Department’s objectives is to “develop alternative revenue sources that have the least impact on local community tax payers,” as if once these sources are discovered, the local support would be dropped. Why not expand service or remove fares instead? As the graph below shows, the revenue gained at the fare-box is a small portion of Athens Transit’s total budget, which is itself much smaller than the budget increase in 2018 alone due to an expanding economy (click on the image to see the full graph).

Why haven’t we switched to fare-free already?

Unfortunately, the ACC Mayor and Commission have shown little interest in providing dedicated funding to Athens Transit, meaning in most cases they want to provide as little as they can without cutting service. In 2012, Mayor Denson succeeded in cutting night service back one hour (to 9:45pm), and last year she fought to cut it again to 7:45pm, but she was overruled by the commission.

However, change is on the horizon; due to term limits, Mayor Denson will serve her last year in 2018. There are also progressive candidates who support fare-free bus service running campaigns for commission this year, such as Tim Denson. If we can convince the commission of the merits of removing fares, the only remaining obstacle will be UGA.

The local government fears that if Athens Transit removes fares, UGA will use this as an excuse to stop contributing as well. UGA is currently paying about $600,000 a year to Athens Transit as part of a contract which is re-negotiated every three years. These negotiations are difficult for the local government, with the Athens representatives at times overwhelmed by UGA’s superior leverage (ACC staff and local government officials, personal communication). UGA chooses to press its advantage, even though it is not a for-profit institution. It is a public institution with a social responsibility to the community in which it is based. Perhaps it’s true that UGA would choose to abandon this responsibility for a small monetary gain if Athens went fare-free.

They have not been asked about this, so we should not be casting judgement yet. But if true, this would not be acceptable in our view. If true, UGA should be publicly shamed until they relent and agree to continue paying their current contribution (at least) for the long-term. It’s the right thing to do. We know they can afford it, because we’re only asking for what they are paying now.

Conclusion

Public transportation has enormous benefits to society and should be supported by policy-makers at every opportunity. Many societal resources have long been shared without objection. For example, should those without cars worry that some of their tax dollars fund road repavement? Do those without children have a right to complain that they are helping to fund education? Should those who dislike reading demand that libraries rent their books for a fee? In a society that values transportation, education and reading, it seems clear that the answer is no. It seems equally clear to us that those who complain fare-free service would give unworthy bus riders something for nothing are similarly off-base.

Transportation systems should be judged by their ability to get as many people around as possible, conveniently, in as short a time frame as we can manage. Extra points for doing this in a socially or environmentally-responsible way. As a society, we should fund whatever system does these things the best, and put less money towards any system that does these things inefficiently or with unwanted consequences. What we should not judge a transportation system on is its ability to raise money; that’s how we judge our taxation systems.

Once we ditch the farebox, expand hours and frequency, and restructure the system in other ways, we will have a transit system to rival any in the world. We will become a more just and equal society, we’ll save money, we’ll save lives, we’ll reduce traffic and we’ll spark economic growth.

What are we waiting for?

Athens for Everyone
1/19/2018

10. Consent Culture Now! Rally a Success!

On a freezing February Saturday in downtown Athens, dozens of people began to gather. In the midst of the regular weekend bar crowd the voices of a hundred protesters could be heard up College Avenue and across North Campus. The diverse group had come together to advocate for a future where sexual assault isn’t pushed under the rug, and society doesn’t turn a blind eye to rape culture. (READ MORE…)

9. A4E convenes Transit Town Hall meeting in Pinewoods, pushing for transit expansion on US29

Athens for Everyone members, Pinewoods residents, Commissioner Kelly Girtz, and others concerned about transportation options along US highway 29 assembled in the Pinewoods Library last week.  A4E President Tim Denson explained our plan to extend bus service along US29 all the way out to the county line, and slightly beyond to the Veteran’s Clinic in Madison County. [Read More…]

8. A4E joins Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Real Food UGA, and more to demand Wendy’s join the Fair Food Program

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers have been pressuring retail food companies to join the Fair Food Program to ensure workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms are provided humane wages and working conditions. Athens for Everyone, along with Real Food UGA & other participating groups, have joined the boycott of Wendy’s until Wendy’s joins the Fair Food Program. A4E was able to host CIW organizers in Athens for a day of action that included a rally, picket, and teach in [READ MORE…]http://www.ciw-online.org/blog/2016/10/tour-reports-southeast-midwest/

7. Georgians Successfully Urge Gov. Deal to Veto Campus Carry Bill!

[youtube https://youtu.be/S1y759-sSSU%20&w=600]

(The complete video is available at: http://athensclarkecounty.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2 )

Athens for Everyone fully endorses this program becoming permanent. A4E believes that services are valuable to residents, especially when they are free and that an exchange of currency is in no way necessary for it to be “valuable”.

Unfortunately, Commissioner Harry Sims has put forward a Commission Defined Option (CDO, which is an alternative option created by a commissioner that can be passed instead of the original proposal) that changed the program from being permanent to being a trial program that would have to be renewed. Sims’ CDO also changed the language from “free” to “fees waived”. Commissioner Kelly Girtz has put forward a CDO that keeps the program permanent and also uses the word “free”. Athens for Everyone supports Commissioner Girtz’s CDO.

“I think it is dangerous for our elected leaders to act like providing services for free is a bad thing”, said Athens for Everyone President Tim Denson, “to assume that residents can’t recognize something as being valuable unless money has been taken from them. What’s next? Our school buses? Our sidewalks?”

The voting meeting will occur on Tuesday, August 2 at 7pm at City Hall. The public is invited to attend and will be given time to speak.

In April, the ACC Commission approved allowing all students under 17 years of age to ride Athens Transit buses free for the summer of 2016. Athens for Everyone fully supported this idea and advocated for it, along with others including Commissioner Harry Sims, to be put in place permanently.

Athens for Everyone is very excited to see an agenda item coming before the Mayor & Commission that will, “request that the Mayor and Commission approve a Youth Ridership program that allows all local youth, ages 5 -17, to ride Athens Transit’s fixed-route services (The Bus) free of charge year round.” The estimated cost in lost revenue would be $40,000.

“(a)  request that the Mayor and Commission approve a Youth Ridership program that allows all local youth, ages 5 -17, to ride Athens Transit’s fixed-route services (The Bus) free of charge year round.

The Mayor & Commission will discuss it at the July 19 Agenda Setting Session and, hopefully, vote for it at the August 2 Voting Session. Athens for Everyone will be organizing a push to make this happen, stay tuned (become a [free] Member of Athens for Everyone so you don’t miss a thing)!

Recently, the recession has begun to ease, and our local government has had additional revenue available for spending — $2.6 million extra in 2015 (4). If public transportation is considered a priority by policy makers, the budget of Athens Transit will be restored in coming years as requested by Transit Director Butch McDuffie. We in Athens for Everyone feel that now is the time to strongly consider eliminating fares completely and moving to a fare-free system as Clemson, SC and Chapel Hill, NC have done.

Fare-free public transportation would benefit Athens-Clarke County in numerous ways. First and foremost, it will alleviate the burden on Athenians in poverty or without cars or other means of transportation. Some say that our large student population somewhat inflates the poverty numbers in Athens, but no one denies that it is a large and growing problem. It is important to remember that UGA and Piedmont College students already have access to fare-free transportation, but poor locals and those attending Athens Tech do not receive this same privilege. This is a source of frustration for many people, which is somewhat damaging to town and gown relations in certain areas of the county. Furthermore, we estimate that families in poverty would need to spend roughly 18% ($3,276 of $18,552) of their income on bus fares each year, which is a significant burden.

It seems likely that most of the $3,276 spent by families in poverty on bus fares would not be saved after switching to a fare-free system, rather, it would be spent and recycled into the economy. This would be a significant boost to local merchants, and part of the profits would end up back with the city government via sales taxation. The American Public Transit Association claims that every dollar spent on public transportation generates $4 in economic returns for the community (5). In some areas that have switched to fare-free systems, local businesses are an integral part of the financial support which makes eliminating fares achievable (6).

Another reason to support public transportation is that mass transportation causes much less carbon dioxide pollution per rider than do individual vehicles. Therefore, environmentalists have every reason to support fare-free transit, which has increased ridership significantly everywhere it has been tried. Typically, ridership increases by 20%-40% in just a few months (7). Ridership increases are simultaneously the greatest promise of going fare-free and also the most significant difficulty in implementing such a system. Transit capacity has been strained in some areas trying fare-free buses, causing them to bring back fares simply to keep down ridership and avoid capacity-building expenses. Most transit systems, however, find it difficult attracting riders. Athens Transit has been losing riders lately to the new (fare-free) UGA bus going along Prince Avenue. Athens-Clarke County even requested that the UGA bus be converted to an express route to force riders back on the city bus, but this request was withdrawn in the ensuing public uproar (8).

Just how much would going fare-free cost Athens-Clarke County? The answer depends on what you count as an expense. In this analysis, we will include the income Athens Transit gains at the farebox and the cost of collecting fares, but it will not include the increased sales tax revenue and economic activity sure to result from removal of fares. It will also not include additional capacity-building expenses that may result from greatly increased ridership.

Athens Transit claims to have received a little over $2 million in fares for 2014 (9). However, this number is somewhat misleading since roughly $1.2 million of this is received as a quarterly payment from UGA based on a three-year ridership average and is not literally obtained from the farebox itself. Athens-Clarke County has a contract with UGA that is often re-negotiated. In previous years, UGA paid a flat fee each year based on the number of students and faculty at the university. Currently, UGA is contracted to pay the standard bulk rate of $1.41 each time a member of the university rides Athens Transit, and this is considered a “fare” by the local government instead of a “fee.” This does make it easier (or in fact possible) for Athens Transit to meet its 35% “at the farebox” budgetary goal (set by the Mayor and Commission), but we believe this contract could be renegotiated and that the entirely arbitrary 35% rule should be dropped. We do not consider UGA’s contribution to be a part of the revenue gained at the farebox. This leaves an $800,000 per year funding gap before fare-free could be achieved, or 0.4% of the county’s $199 million budget.

Even the $800,000 number is an overestimate of the cost of going fare-free in Athens. This is because a large number of tickets are in fact purchased by the school board and by local nonprofits who get some of their funding from the local government. We do not think that money the local government pays itself should be considered “revenue” and believe it is more accurate to subtract this amount (roughly $200,000) from the cost of going fare-free, leaving the amount at about $600,000.

Again, the $600,000 number is an overestimate because the cost of collecting fares has not been considered. These fareboxes cost between $500,000 and $800,000 for the city’s bus fleet and last about 10 years before they are scheduled for replacement, a cost of at least $50,000 per year. Additionally, parts, repair, and licensing for the boxes costs another $75,000 per year or more. Ticket printing expenses are about $10,000 per year. Lastly, the city must pay employees four hours of labor a day simply counting the money itself, which (at $10/hour) amounts to perhaps $12,000 a year. Collectively, this means that another $150,000 must be subtracted from the cost of going fare-free, leaving the total at $450,000, or 0.23% of the city’s yearly budget. This is entirely affordable for a city of our size.

We have demonstrated that the biggest expense in implementing a fare-free system in Athens would not come from the lack of fare revenue, but rather from the potential vast increase in ridership and resulting capacity-building expenses. Yet, even this cost would likely not be as high as in other areas, due to the presence of an already fare-free system in the same county (UGA Transit). Additionally, most riders on Athens Transit itself are associated with the university and already ride free, further reducing the odds that there would be a budget-crushing increase in ridership since these riders are not sensitive to fare prices (12). As much as we at Athens for Everyone would love to see a massive number of new riders after switching to fare-free, it seems likely that increases in ridership would be manageable. As a way to demonstrate this, we are currently asking the local government for a three-month fare-free trial period to take place in 2016, similar to the one in Asheville, NC in 2006 (13). The cost of the trial period would be roughly $200,000, an amount we know is affordable because it is the same amount the city has already allocated for the 2015 Transit Study.

Asheville performed the trial period simply as a way of marketing their transit system, but took detailed notes which are of use to us as we hopefully consider a similar move. They saw a 60% increase in ridership, which overwhelmed their system and caused complaints to increase and on-time performance to suffer. Nonetheless, their experiment was considered a success because even a year after the trial, ridership remained up 9%. If Athens has a similar experience after conducting a fare-free trial period, we would have a choice: we could either greatly expand our transit system to accommodate the new riders at the expense of millions of dollars while maintaining fare-free service, or we could bring back fares and accept the increase in fare revenue that the new riders (however many remain) would bring. Only the taxpayers of Athens can decide, but whichever path is chosen, Athens would seem to be better off, even in the unlikely scenario of a massive increase in ridership during peak hours.

Fare-free public transportation is not a new idea in the southern US. Clemson-Area Transit has been fare-free since its inception in 1996. Chapel Hill Transit in NC has been fare-free since 2002, and AppalCART in Boone, NC has been fare-free since 1981. Yet, in the minds of the public and even many policymakers who are unfamiliar with the idea, it often seems an unrealistic fantasy. This is unfortunate, because fare-free public transportation has the potential to revolutionize ACC transit, improve our economy, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and provide a hand up to thousands living in poverty. Athens-Clarke County seems an ideal candidate for adoption of the policy, and in fact, we have already adopted it for the vast majority of riders on both UGA Transit and Athens Transit. UGA Transit gives fare-free rides to over 11 million riders a year (14). Athens Transit likewise gives over one million fare-free rides a year. The remaining riders paying a fare represent only 5.5% of the total yearly transit trips in Athens-Clarke County, yet somehow it is considered “unrealistic” to extend the fare-free program to these additional residents, and we have instead chosen to raise fares twice in three years. We at Athens for Everyone consider this to be unacceptable.

Chris Dowd
January 8th, 2015