Estonia’s capital city gives residents a free ride
TALLINN, Estonia — Looking for a free ride? Go live in Tallinn.
Estonia’s capital became the world’s first to introduce free public transportation for all of its residents. All that’s required is a transit pass showing you’re a registered Tallinner — and the city’s buses, streetcars and trams are yours for free.
“I live on a tight budget since I don’t have too much work right now,” said Mare Tulp, who recently registered as a Tallinn resident. “I need to save money wherever I can, so I’m very happy with the free public transit scheme. This is a good thing for the common person.”
Three months after launching the initiative, city officials are hailing the experiment as a success, though skeptics call it an expensive, populist trick ahead of local elections.
The free-ride scheme is the brainchild of Mayor Edgar Sa- visaar, who wants to reduce congestion and pollution while alleviating expenses for the city’s poor.
Savisaar has even dubbed the program the “13th monthly salary” since, he claims, families will be able to save a month’s salary now that they can get around Tallinn for free.
Deputy Mayor Taavi Aas says the experiment, which will cost the city $16 million annually in lost ticket sales, has surpassed expectations.
Passenger numbers are up 10 percent, while the number of cars on city streets has fallen by as much as 15 percent, according to Tallinn’s transport authority.
A recent opinion poll commissioned by the city showed that nine out of 10 Tallinn residents are satisfied with the project.
“People now move around the city more frequently during weekends,” Aas said. “This means they also spend more money, which boosts the econo- my.”
City officials say it’s too early to tell how much the city’s economy has been stimulated in this way. But the program is expected to boost the city’s tax revenue because the registration requirement is essentially winning the city more taxable residents.
According to city calculations, some 40,000 people living and working in Tallinn are registered in other cities and towns. But more than 5,000 new Tallinn residents have been registered since Jan. 1, compared with 3,600 residency registrations during all of last year.
With 1,000 new residents equaling an estimated 1 million euros in city tax revenue, the current registration rate would offset the program’s costs this year, Aas said.
The initiative covers buses, streetcars and trolleybuses in Tallinn — a city of 425,000. The only catch is that one must be registered as a city resident and get a transit pass for 2 euros.
Once on board, you must place the pass on an electronic reader. If you don’t, expect a fine of up to $52 should a ticket controller emerge.
To be sure, Tallinn is not a trailblazer with free transportation. Many small European towns, such as Hasselt in Belgium and Colomiers in France, have tried it, as well as some Chinese cities. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has mulled over the idea.
But Tallinn is the first capital and the largest city after Changning City in central China to introduce free public transport, Aas said.
He said the project’s two risks — insufficient capacity and the risk of derelicts spending entire days in buses — have not materialized so far.