Eric Goldwyn in Governing

But even some transit experts who doubt the concept of fare-free transit in big cities, where fare-paying riders provide a substantial portion of the budget, think the idea is worth experimenting with in smaller jurisdictions. ‘In places with very low farebox recovery, there is an argument to be made for piloting and seeing what happens,’ says Eric Goldwyn, assistant professor of transportation and land use at New York University. ‘The main issue is what are the trade-offs? If you can manage to go fare free while also providing frequent, reliable service, that’s really something.’