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The impact of "free" public transport: The case of Brussels

Author

Listed:
  • De Witte, Astrid
  • Macharis, Cathy
  • Lannoy, Pierre
  • Polain, Céline
  • Steenberghen, Thérèse
  • Van de Walle, Stefaan

Abstract

Public transport subsidies play an important role in the present Belgian mobility policy. The introduction of "free" bus transport in Hasselt in 1997 was an important event. Later, the Flemish government in cooperation with the regional public transport company elaborated the so-called "third-payer system" for target groups. The price of public transport is not paid by the user or the provider, but partly or completely by a "third party". In how far these measures contribute to a more sustainable mobility system has caused much debate. In the academic year 2003-2004, a "free public transport" initiative was introduced for the students of Flemish colleges and universities in Brussels. These students had the opportunity to obtain a refunded annual season ticket on Brussels public transport. Brussels was selected for the case study, because in the same city there is a group of students that benefits from the measure, and another group (students from French speaking universities and colleges) that does not. In order to examine the effects of this measure, we conducted a survey among the students to examine their present travel behaviour (number of trips, motives, modal choice ...) and the changes with the travel behaviour of the previous year. In addition we compare the current travel behaviour between the students benefiting from the measure, and those who do not.

Suggested Citation

  • De Witte, Astrid & Macharis, Cathy & Lannoy, Pierre & Polain, Céline & Steenberghen, Thérèse & Van de Walle, Stefaan, 2006. "The impact of "free" public transport: The case of Brussels," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 671-689, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:40:y:2006:i:8:p:671-689
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    2. Nan Yang & Yong Long Lim, 2018. "Temporary Incentives Change Daily Routines: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Singapore’s Subways," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(7), pages 3365-3379, July.
    3. Lee, Ming-Tsung & Yeh, Chao-Fu, 2019. "Causal effects between bus revenue vehicle-kilometers and bus ridership," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 54-64.
    4. Proost, Stef & Dender, Kurt Van, 2008. "Optimal urban transport pricing in the presence of congestion, economies of density and costly public funds," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 1220-1230, November.
    5. Diana, Marco & Pronello, Cristina, 2010. "Traveler segmentation strategy with nominal variables through correspondence analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 183-190, May.
    6. Oded Cats & Yusak O. Susilo & Triin Reimal, 2017. "The prospects of fare-free public transport: evidence from Tallinn," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(5), pages 1083-1104, September.
    7. Cools, Mario & Fabbro, Yannick & Bellemans, Tom, 2016. "Free public transport: A socio-cognitive analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 96-107.
    8. Timilsina, Govinda R. & Dulal, Hari B., 2008. "Fiscal policy instruments for reducing congestion and atmospheric emissions in the transport sector : a review," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4652, The World Bank.
    9. Schaefers, Tobias, 2013. "Exploring carsharing usage motives: A hierarchical means-end chain analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 69-77.
    10. Cheng, Yung-Hsiang & Chang, Yu-Hern & Lu, I.J., 2015. "Urban transportation energy and carbon dioxide emission reduction strategies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 953-973.
    11. De Witte, Astrid & Hollevoet, Joachim & Dobruszkes, Frédéric & Hubert, Michel & Macharis, Cathy, 2013. "Linking modal choice to motility: A comprehensive review," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 329-341.
    12. Ko, Joonho & Lee, Sugie & Byun, Miree, 2019. "Exploring factors associated with commute mode choice: An application of city-level general social survey data," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 36-46.
    13. Redman, Lauren & Friman, Margareta & Gärling, Tommy & Hartig, Terry, 2013. "Quality attributes of public transport that attract car users: A research review," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 119-127.
    14. Drut, Marion, 2018. "Spatial issues revisited: The role of shared transportation modes," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 85-95.
    15. Taylor, Brian D & Miller, Douglas & Iseki, Hiroyuki & Fink, Camille, 2008. "Nature and/or nurture? Analyzing the determinants of transit ridership across US urbanized areas," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt5w9045hh, University of California Transportation Center.
    16. Marion Drut, 2016. "Spatial issues revisited: A note on the role of shared transportation modes," ERSA conference papers ersa16p118, European Regional Science Association.
    17. Chao-Fu Yeh & Ming-Tsung Lee, 2019. "Effects of Taichung bus policy on ridership according to structural change analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 1-16, February.
    18. De Witte, Astrid & Macharis, Cathy & Mairesse, Olivier, 2008. "How persuasive is 'free' public transport?: A survey among commuters in the Brussels Capital Region," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 216-224, July.

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