During the month of August, Colorado tried what many would feel was a bold experiment. The state collaborated with mass transit to encourage people to use public transportation instead of using their cars. Here’s the thing-traffic sucks here. But, the reason the Zero Fare for Better Air campaign was designed as environmental campaign was to address the very real environmental concerns that Colorado and basically all of the western states are dealing with. A prolonged drought that has created destructive fire seasons for years now. But the fires aren’t just burning shit down.
They have a very real consequence related to decreased air quality. In fact, about a week ago the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA put Denver and the surrounding metro area on notice regarding the poor air quality. It wasn’t a surprise. So why am I talking about an environmental policy on a podcast that focuses on personal finance? Because in my view that month of free transit was a financial initiative wrapped in environmental policy. In this short episode, I’m going to share some surprising takeaways from the Zero Fare for Better Air initiative and what other US cities could learn about trying out policies such as this one.
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Show Notes
In the month of August, the state of Colorado somewhat clumsily rolled out the Zero Fare for Better Air campaign. The goal was to get citizens to lower their car usage, use public transit and hopefully reduce some of the environmental impact of exhaust, gas, etc. on our air. Coloradans (as well as folks in Utah, California, Arizona, etc.) have gotten used to looking at air quality alerts and the very real issues that come with having a megadrought for the past 20 years. Lack of water, massive fires and everyone driving has become a recipe for bad air quality.
What I was personally struck by was that for me, the Zero Fare for Better Air was a financial policy. In fact, I really think they made a mistake by NOT emphasizing the savings that people would incur by using free transit. I should mention also that the free fare was available in cities throughout the state that agreed to be a part of the program. It wasn’t just Denver.
Here’s the thing, Denver’s transit in particular is kind of expensive. It’s a $6 round-trip for a day pass within the city of Denver. You can take as many trips as you would like during that day, but it’s still a little expensive over time if you don’t have access to an employer-provided transit pass. If you live further out, it’s $10.50 for a day pass. For example, if you were to take the bus from Denver to Boulder.
So, when talking about having a month of free transit, for many families this was a huge financial lifeline. It gave people wiggle room in their budgets at the same time that back-to-school was happening and people were finding out that the free lunch policy that had been enacted during COVID had ended. Gas prices were still kind of high at that time as well. I’ll run some random numbers. If you’re going to work in-person 5 days a week at $6 a day for a month that’s $120. Or, $200 a month for regional trips. Or around $1,440 to $2400 a year. But, this isn’t including the cost of gas if you’re also driving. My point is, it costs money.
By the way, the Zero Fare for Better Air program was paid for by reallocating some funds in the budget and grants.
Here are some really interesting takeaways from this experience.
Fare Enforcement
Free fare eliminated fare enforcement activities by transit police who were able to focus on making sure that riders were safe. I’m often struck by the videos that come out of New York City with groups of transit cops chasing after someone who didn’t or wasn’t able to pay the fare. It seems like such a waste of resources and time when there are real VIOLENT crimes to protect people from.
It feels like yet another way to get people involved in the corrections system.
By the way, when you’re taking the bus here obviously you pay as you get on the bus. When you’re on the train, you pay before getting on the train but you’re never sure when fares will be checked. I have seen people quietly escorted by transit policy off the trains but I’m always leery about the fare enforcement aspect of public transit. How public is it when people can’t afford to use it?
Ease of Use
I loved how I just had to get on the train or bus and go to my destination. There was no concern about anything beyond arriving on time. I loved it. I also noticed that because there were no fare enforcement measures in place because transit was free, it made things easier for the drivers and train conductors. They also didn’t have to deal with fare enforcement activities. They just had to focus on getting us to the next point safely.
Enthusiasm and Excitement
People were genuinely so excited about the program and rediscovering using transit. COVID really did a number on public transportation usage and the Zero Fare program was a great way to get people excited about doing something for the social good while helping themselves at the same time. It was a lot of fun to hear people on the train talk about why they were on the train, see people’s social media posts about their experiences and I did notice more people using transit.
An Unintended Consequence
What I was struck by was the fact that we do have the money to allocate towards transformative policies that positively impact citizens. In fact, the state of New Mexico has begun testing out a year long zero fare initiative that will end in June 2023.
In fact, there is no way that you could try to convince me that this isn’t possible in a city the size of Denver. I’ve been taking notes as we:
- Provided a child tax credit that helped millions of families and then eliminated it
- Provided free disease mitigation initiatives for COVID-I received free in-person COVID testing provided by the state of Colorado I think 3 times and more free COVID tests than I can count, the vaccine and free boosters. This is not the first time that my life has been saved by the government. When I was 7 I had to undergo a year of treatment for tuberculosis (yes, I’m serious) . I used to live in Japan and they think I was exposed to it when I was younger. The city I lived in covered the daily medication that I had to take and once a week x-rays FOR A YEAR.
- Free lunch for school aged children. In fact, the state of Colorado will be voting on making this a permanent measure in the upcoming November 2022 election.
- Did you know that in the 1930’s the owner of Kellogg’s decided to implement a 6 hour workday and paid workers fairly. As you can imagine it was HUGELY popular.
- The highly popular PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loan forgiveness program enacted in 2020
- The Stimulus payments
The unintended consequence of these successful initiatives is that there is proof that they work and there is proof that there is money for them. Let me say this again. There’s proof that these policies work and there’s proof that we have the money to make them happen.
People will often make the argument that if people receive some of these basic benefits that they won’t be as motivated, won’t work as hard, etc.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Similar to the conversations around student loan forgiveness that I had all summer long, these policies allow people to make different more empowered financial decisions. To invest, to save money, to take that trip they’d been dreaming of or shop at that locally owned boutique run by YOU. These policies almost always have a positive ripple effect and you can’t convince me otherwise.
Now, I will fight for year round free transit because I KNOW that it’s possible. What are your thoughts?
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