Successful Implementation of Free Public Transit Australia - Adelaide - Central Business District Australia - Perth - Central Business District Belgium - Hasselt  made its bus system free. The mayor rejected plans for a third ring highway, converted one existing ring highway into a pedestrian and bicycle street, and made the buses free. Since then, bus ridership has increased by 800%. This initiative has been so successful in attracting new business to Hasselt that taxes have been cut and the city's debt is down. To celebrate the first anniversary of the changes, the mayor announced free bicycles. China - Fujian - ShiShi. China - Hunan - Changning - Starting from July 1 [2008], local residents and visitors enjoy a free ride along the city's three public transportation lines and the government has allocated 7 million yuan ($1 million) to facilitate the initiative. According to the local media, on the first day of the free public bus service, passenger numbers jumped by over 60 percent. Croatia - Zagreb France - Aubange - 2009 France - Castres-Mazamet France - Colomiers - 38 years and expanding France - Compiègne. Le réseau de transport du Compiégnois, TIC, compte 6 lignes entièrement gratuites qui desservent Compiègne, Venette et Margny. Germany - Templin - The German town of Templin is another positive example of fare-free transit. Since 1997 the purchase of a ticket has been obsolete in several small German cities, including Templin (14,000 inhabitants). A study carried out for the German Federal Ministry of Transportation investigated and evaluated the benefits of fare-free schemes using Templin as reference (Keuchel et al. 2000). Overall, the results are fairly positive and encouraging—the benefits outweigh the costs by far. This could lead to a dominance of pull policies over push policies. Is this the beginning of a paradigm shift in policies aimed at solving environmental problems of transportation? Italy - Troia New Zealand - Auckland - City Circuit Spain - Manises 2007 Thailand, Bangkok  - 1 Aug 2008 - 73 free busroutes, 164 daily trains (3rd class) free. USA - AR - West Memphis MATA USA - CA - Commerce The City's transit system consists of five routes that run within the Commerce city limits, Monday through Saturday. Two routes are in operation on Sunday, with one stopping at the Commerce Shopping Center on Whittier and Goodrich Boulevards, and one stopping at churches located in the city. The City also offers a Medi-Ride service, which transports senior and/or disabled Commerce residents to their medical appointments. Excursion service is provided to City-recognized civic organizations and service clubs. All transportation services offered by the department are FREE OF CHARGE . USA - CA - Emeryville - The Emery Go Round is a free shuttle to Emeryville California from MacArthur BART and Emeryville Amtrak train stations. Buses run every day, with a frequency of 10-12 minutes during weekday commute hours. USA - CO - Summit County  The Summit Stage began providing ski bus service in 1977....the County assumed operation of the Stage in 1989. In 1992 rider ship was 432,000. Today the stage serves 1.75 million riders annually, and continues to grow month after month. USA - OR - Canby - Canby Area Transit. - Riding CAT is free to riders. CAT provides system services in Canby with links to other cities. Increasing and improving public transportation benefits riders and the businesses where they work and shop. USA - HI - County of Hawaii Free Island-Wide Bus Service on all Scheduled Routes! USA - IA - Cambus , the university of Iowa's campus bus system that traverses the city linking University buildings and dorms, as well as the University Hospital and commuter parking lots. (Thank you, Emily! second generation driver). USA - IL - Niles The Niles "Free Bus" is a courtesy bus system which runs continually from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. weekdays and 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. weekends operating within the Village of Niles at no charge to riders. The buses stop at all major shopping centers, public facilities, and within a short distance of every residence. USA - LA - Hammond - The Tangipahoa Voluntary Council on Aging has reorganized the Hammond bus schedule to create a continuous one-hour route across the city. The free public transportation route includes 18 stops. USA - MT - Big Sky - Skyline Bus USA - MT - Bozeman - Streamline Bus USA - NC - Chapel Hill -  Chapel Hill Transit provides public transportation service throughout the Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and UNC community. It is a municipal department within the Town of Chapel Hill and was established in 1974. Chapel Hill Transit operates fixed route and demand responsive service within approximately a 25 square mile service area. In January 2002, the system became fare-free. Chapel Hill Transit produces over 142,000 annual hours of service, has a budget of over $11 million. At the end of the 2004-2005 fiscal year, fixed route ridership was over 5.7 million. USA - NC - The Wolfline is the NC State community's own bus service. Wolfline buses run every day that classes are in session, serving all three campuses, two park & ride lots, and official NCSU housing. Wolfline buses are open to the public. No university ID, pass, or fare is required to ride! (Thank you, Chris!). USA - NC - Watauga County - AppalCART USA - NH - Hanover USA - NY - NYC - The Staten Island Ferry Though NYC as a whole is far from fee-free, about ten years ago they decided the cost of collecting the fares was basically eating up all the fares, so they made it totally free. (Thank you, Don). USA - OR - Estacada USA - SC - Seneca - Clemson Area Transit is a public service provided fare-free by Clemson University, the City of Clemson, the Town of Central, the Town of Pendleton, Anderson County, the South Carolina Department of Transportation, and the Federal Transit Administration. USA - UT - Northeast Utah   An anti-tax sentiment throughout Utah in the early 1990s didn’t inhibit Logan from making a bold move. Responding to residents’ voiced frustrations with mobility options, the city assembled a Citizens Committee to explore transportation alternatives. None of the ideas generated, of course, could be put into motion for free. With city coffers tapped, the Committee went to residents to measure their commitment, placing a city tax initiative on the 1990 ballot. The overwhelming majority vote made mobility a priority. The Logan Transit District was born. Today, our operations are fueled by the sales tax that the community invests in itself. USA - UT - Park City USA - WA - Camano, Uninc County - Island Transit USA - WA - Island County The Island Transit Board of Directors feels that charging a fare is contrary to the mission of Island Transit. Typically, for smaller or rural transit systems, collecting a fare generates virtually no usable revenue because of the costs associated with the collection of the fare!!! In addition, the farebox imposes an unnecessary inconvenience which is detrimental to ridership, and therefore contrary to the mission. Island Transit is pre-paid with a local Sales Tax of 6/10ths of 1% on every dollar spent in Island County. Wikipedia List - Thanks to Dave Olsen, Peter Dowden and others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_public_transport