So, the results are in for the 'Free Fare Friday' that happened on December 22, 2017: UTA estimates that
22,000 extra rides occurred that day as a result of eliminating fares.
http://fox13now.com/2018/01/15/uta-r...ent-a-success/
Quote:
According to a press release made by UTA, there was a 23 percent ridership increase on the free day, compared to days where standard fare rates applied.
“Free Fare Friday was designed to encourage people to try public transit – and it worked,” said Utah President/CEO Jerry Benson. “Thousands of riders boarded our buses and trains, and we were able to save several tons of pollution from entering our atmosphere during a critical time of year for air quality.”
FrontRunner, the UTA’s commuter train service, saw the biggest increase in ridership, at 66 percent. TRAX, UTA’s regional rail service, saw a 32 percent increase.
“It’s encouraging to see so many people embraced Free Fare Friday,” said former City Council Chair Stan Penfold, who led efforts to sponsor the event. “This is a small, but significant example that residents of our great community will respond positively to common sense ways to making a difference on the issues we all care deeply about. The success of Free Fare Friday shows that people are willing to take action.”
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It's worth noting that this was announced with less than a week in advance, and UTA still got a 23% boost in ridership. Imagine what kind of a boost would happen if fares were free all the time!
It is also interesting that FrontRunner got the most new riders. You can argue and say that it was the most expensive and therefore the biggest savings, but I think it speaks more to a pent-up demand for better FrontRunner service. This experiment should be used as evidence that UTA and the State really need to start work on double-tracking the line ASAP. Imagine what would happen if FrontRunner service were not only free, but was also so frequent you never needed to wait more than 10 minutes for the next train. It would be absolutely nuts!
How to pay for free fares? The article provides some interesting clues near the end:
[IMG]According to General Manager of City Creek Center Linda Wardell, the shopping center saw a boost in foot traffic throughout the day. “The size of the crowds streaming off TRAX trains and into the Center throughout the day and evening was amazing. Stores were packed and some of our restaurants stayed open late to serve hungry shoppers and visitors,” Wardell said.[/IMG]
There is an idea out there called
Value Capture, in which the stores and businesses that benefit from the close proximity to transit pay a special fee or tax that in return pays for the transit. There are many ways to make this work, and it isn't hard to see that if making fares free really does bring in so many more riders, that a value capture system would go a long way to making up for the shortfall in fare income.
I hope UTA does this again soon. I took my extended family downtown on TRAX and took a bus home, and everyone had a great time.