“Last week’s troubled My Way+ rollout may be a blessing in disguise prompting us to revisit the case for free public transport and its benefits for vulnerable Canberrans including people with disability,” writes CRAIG WALLACE.

The bungled introduction of the new My Way+ Ticketing system should prompt a new and more serious analysis of the costs and benefits of operating a fare-collection system. 

Last week was meant to see the period of fare-free public transport come to an end, but instead users of Canberra’s bus network encountered a litany of problems that the head of the Canberra Public Transport Association says might take months to fix. 

The switchover was anything but seamless as commuters were met with machines refusing to scan their cards or QR codes, error messages when tapping on and off, as well as difficulties accessing the cards in the first place. 

While this will prompt questions about the technical capability of those connected with the My Way+ roll out, perhaps it should again be a trigger for policy makers to ask the bigger question: Why do we collect fares? How do returns stack against the costs of building and administering a fare system? What might be the benefits of just making public transport free? And even, what is the role of public transport in 2024? 

For many people with disabilities, who are precarious users of public transport, the disruptions to My Way+ are especially problematic – including for people with intellectual and cognitive disability who have spent weeks trying to prepare for a new system and now have to wrangle with machines that don’t work and the uncertainty that this creates. 

Community organisations have been putting forward the case for free public transport in Canberra for a while. The ACT Council of Social Services (ACTCOSS) has advocated that the government should undertake a triple bottom line business case for free public transport, highlighting the cascade of benefits that would flow from this decision. 

The development of a comprehensive business case for free public transport might weigh the costs of administering and retaining fare system that doesn’t even come close to meeting the costs and upkeep of public transport with the potential for unlocking social and economic participation by vulnerable people who no longer need to worry about whether they can afford to travel to low-paid, part-time jobs, enabling frictionless travel and also decreasing the number of dead trips. It might also reduce the causes of friction and altercations that saw a recent network-wide strike as well as alleviating the cost-of-living pressures facing every Canberran. 

A modern fare system requires layers of complexity including different concessions for different users. The ACT’s system is especially complex with a blend of off-peak concessions and free travel for children five years and under who are not attending school, ACT residents aged over 70, Veterans Affairs TPI Gold Card holders, passengers with visual impairment as well as high school and university students. 

The need to build such a web of concessions invites the question of whether we collect at all. In a smart and compact city, travel should be seamless and travel costs should not stop people doing the things they have to do or the things they want to do. 

For people with disability free public transport might be the tipping point for economic and social participation. There might be unforeseen benefits for all of us including enhanced safety with increased ridership on previously empty routes, a greener and cleaner environment with less emissions, as well as easing congestion. We’ve already had a long trial of fare-free transport in Canberra, which was popular and successful. The government has all but acknowledged this by retaining Fare Free Fridays within the new system. 

Access to transport can enhance or take away opportunities. Because of this, transport disadvantage tends to hurt the people who need access to transport the most. 

People with disability and low incomes have the greatest need to travel – for medical and Centrelink appointments, to and from casual work, for example. Yet, they have the least flexibility about where and how they move across the city. Public transport should lift its ambitions, accessibility and scope for individuals experiencing transport disadvantage, including people with disability and anyone experiencing material deprivations and hardships. 

A number of jurisdictions around the world have introduced free public transport. Recently, Montpellier in France saw a 20 per cent increase in journeys within the first few months of the scheme. The free service and public transport improvements are funded through a mobility payment from large companies, the removal of unnecessary administrative and ticket infrastructure costs, and sales revenue from tickets purchased by people who don’t live in the region. 

Public transport in Tallinn, Estonia, has been free since 2013. Evaluations demonstrate increased trip generation and enhanced mobility, participation, and accessibility for low-income and unemployed social-economic groups. 

Sure, someone has to pay for transport but does the ordinary commuter really deserve the bill? If you think about it, businesses, employers and large government agencies are the biggest beneficiaries of a mobile population either because they need to move their employees from home to their worksites or they benefit from workers being in town centres. Perhaps they should pay for more of the infrastructure that makes that possible rather than expecting their own workers to?

Eliminating fares can promote a much-needed boost to ridership by removing the cost burdens of public transport and making it equitable for everyone. 

However, this needs to be coupled with a consistent and strong focus on accessibility, service and quality if it is to truly alleviate transport disadvantage. When treated and operated as a public good, transportation systems serve to maximise social benefit rather than financial profit. 

As a public good, public transport has the potential to become a societal investment in efficient and accessible mobility and a catalyst for inclusive growth. 

Last week’s troubled My Way+ rollout may be a blessing in disguise prompting us to revisit the case for free public transport and its benefits for vulnerable Canberrans including people with disability.

Craig Wallace is the head of policy at Advocacy for Inclusion.