Impact and effectivity of ‘Free’ Public Transport measures: lessons from the case study of Brussels

The objective of the paper is to examine and to assess the effects of the introduction of a third payer system on the mobility behaviour from a multidisciplinary viewpoint. This approach allows an analysis of various effects that free public transport and, in general, price policies can entail. The concept of the ‘third payer system’ implies that the cost of public transport is not paid by the user or provider, but partially or completely by a third party. Local authorities, other public organisations and private organisations can enter into such agreements and pay for public transport for a specific target group in a specific area. The analysis has been performed through a case study, namely the introduction of free urban public transport for students at Dutch-speaking universities and colleges in Brussels. In how far this measure contributes to a more sustainable mobility system has caused much debate. Also, not everyone is convinced that such a measure is beneficial for the society. Some people argue that there are better ways to spend the money, for instance on the quality of public transport. In order to assess whether this measure has societal benefits, a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) has been carried out. This analysis calculates the benefits and costs of the measure, in order to find out if the balance is positive or negative.