Cities back free public transport to cut pollution

EUROPEAN cities are increasingly looking toward free transport in a bid to combat air pollution and Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, is the latest local leader hoping to make public transport free.

The German government is also considering free transport across the entire country, if this year’s pilot scheme in five big cities works out.

Niort in western France has been running free buses since last September for its 125,000 inhabitants. The scheme has boosted passenger numbers by 130 per cent, reduced the number of cars on the roads, and cost the town little more than when people had to buy tickets, said Jérôme Baloge, the mayor.

“In Niort the revenue from ticket sales represented only 10 per cent of the cost of running public transport. In Paris it’s around half…and our buses were often half empty, while in Paris the Metro and buses are packed,” he cautioned.

Most of Germany’s local transport is owned by municipalities, but Greenpeace has proposed the government make car companies fund free transport.