Lead Presenter:  James Cline | Program Manager/Senior Research Engineer | Texas A&M Transportation Institute​​​​​​​

Presentation Description
During the COVID 19 pandemic, many agencies implemented fare-free transit policies as a means of reducing health risk to transit employees and passengers while enabling ridership during this period. The concept of fare-free, or zero-fare, transit services have continued to generate a great deal of interest in recent years, particularly due to their potential to address transportation equity issues. However, consideration of the long-term viability of these transit services must be carefully evaluated as these policy/programmatic decisions are made.

Given the growing interest in fare-free policies, there is a need for structured guidance to evaluate their implementation effectively and ensure these programs are viable, equitable, and tailored to specific agency contexts. To address this need, as part of a project funded by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), the research team developed a guide and a decision-support tool for state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other practitioners on administering zero-fare public transit services. This resource, “Sustaining Zero-Fare Transit in a Post COVID-19 World: A Guide for State DOTs (NCHRP Report 1126)”, was published in the Fall of 2024 to assist not only State DOTs but also transit agencies and other practitioners. The guide and accompanying tool enable users to make informed decisions and recommendations without advocating for or against the implementation of fare-free service.

As part of this project, a variety of zero-fare program scenarios were developed that explored relevant factors such as agency size, funding sources, modes or transit services operated fare-free, peak-hour capacity demands, fare recovery, regional services, service agreements, and fare dependence. The project outcomes provide a balanced analysis of benefits, costs, and other factors for any state DOT seeking to assist transit agencies in their plans to initiate, sustain, or terminate zero-fare transit programs. The research team concluded that the choice to start, continue, or stop fare-free transit operations is generally dependent upon the needs of the customer base, the availability of funding to offset the loss of fare revenue, and the support of policy officials. The presentation will provide key findings and increase awareness of this research for use in making key policy and implementation decisions.

(https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27927/sustaining-zero-fare-public-transit-in-a-post-covid-19-world)

  Co-presenter(s): 

Ipek Sener
Texas A&M Transportation Insititute

Kelly Blume
Texas A&M Transportation Institute

Matthew Miller
Texas A&M Transportation Institute

Candace Brakewood
University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Ashley Hightower
University of Tennessee - Knoxville

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