By Michael Chelsea, Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor, December 17, 2017
Free transit frees us all
Re: Letter, Do away with public transit fares, Dec. 13.
Consider these benefits to free urban public transit. With fewer cars on the road, there will be reduced costs in the areas of auto insurance, medical care, policing and the courts. Fewer cars will mean less fuel use, less pollution, and reduced demand for additional roads.
Free urban transit will mean many two-car families can go to one car, and some to no car, saving in the region of $9,000 per year per car (source: CAA). As the letter-writer says, free urban transit will be a tourist draw. Inveterate car users will complain about paying for something they don’t use, but their reward will be less traffic congestion.
http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/letters/todays-letters-fair-wages-fair-taxes-free-transit-and-f-18s