When my daughter began her studies in Montpellier, she was pleasantly surprised to find that her student transport pass didnโt come with a discountโit came with ๐ขย ๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆย ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด. And itโs not just a perk for students; itโs available to all Montpellier residents. You may think, โFree rides? Sounds like a ticket to budget disaster,โ but Iโd argue it makes ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ตย ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ.
Hereโs why:
1๏ธโฃ ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ดย ๐ฃ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐย ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: Offering free transport is a powerful incentive to leave the car at home. More public transport use means fewer cars, which translates into cleaner air and less traffic congestion. Thatโs a win for everyone.
2๏ธโฃ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ดย ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐นย ๐๐ผ๐๐๐: Letโs face itโticket revenue rarely covers the full cost of running public transport. In most cities, fare collection isnโt just inefficient; itโs costly. Free rides eliminate the need for ticketing machines, turnstiles, and conductors. With fewer resources tied up in ticket sales, a transport system can focus on what itโs there forโgetting people around efficiently and sustainably.
In the end, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆย ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ท๐ช๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅย ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐คย ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ต๐ดย ๐ฐ๐งย ๐ขย ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ-๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆย ๐ด๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎย ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ตย ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ตย ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ช๐จ๐ฉย ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆย ๐ค๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ด. Montpellier is leading by example. So, is it time more cities looked at public transport this way?
๐ฌ Do you agree? Letโs discuss below! Follow for more insights into cleantech and sustainable cities!