Optimal Time Period of Fare-Free Public Transport Zone Based on Social Equity

A public transportation system holds the promise of more efficient movement and fewer environmental problems. Rising its ridership attraction is an important goal of transportation demand management measures. Many cities around the world have implemented a free public transport policy, such as Tallinn and Melbourne, although their results are not ideal enough due to the inadequate planning. Thus, this paper further considers a peak hour fare-free zone in order to improve the urban mobility and social equity. Moreover, fare-free public transport refers to public transport funded in full by means other than by collecting fares from passengers, which involves the issue of resource reassignment. Hence, the social equity issue is considered as an evaluation criterion in this paper. In conclusion, this paper focuses on the feasibility as well as the public equity issue of fare-free public transport, trying to identify the optimal time period for implementing this policy based on social equity. Findings will be valuable for policy makers to evaluate fare-free public transport.