France now has 49 fare-free territories. It has a total population of more than 3.4 million, a Fare Free London event last week was told.

Ten of the fare-free zones are municipalities with more than 100,000 population, Jérôme Serodio of the Union for Free and Public Transport Development (UGDT) said.

“Free public transport turns the city into a common good”, he argued. “It builds social cohesion and opens access to culture, work and citizenship.”

The event, “How to Make Public Transport Free” was held at the Golden Lane community centre in the Barbican, and on line, and was followed by Fare Free London’s annual meeting.

Attendees also heard a message from Julie Frêche, vice-president for transport of the Montpellier metropolitan area in southern France, which introduced universal free public transport in 2023.

In 2025, there were 42% more journeys taken by public transport than in 2019, Frêche reported. Cycling and walking had increased and – highly significant from a policy point of view – car traffic was down by 27%.

“Introducing free fares and improving services are closely connected”, Frêche said. The metropolitan authority had launched a fifth tram line, and a new bus rapid transit line, together with abolishing fares for all residents.

The universal free transport scheme also meant a “very real increase in household purchasing power”, in a municipality with a poverty rate of 31%, double the French average. It beats means-tested discounts, which are often not claimed and do not help low-paid service workers.

The Montpellier scheme works out as an annual saving of nearly €1600 for a family of four, €1015 for a single parent family and nearly €390 for someone over 65.

It is paid for by a mobility tax levied on companies in Montpellier with more than 11 employees.

Frêche said “no-one is shocked that using the roads is free”, but maintaining them costs Montpellier €70 million a year, compared to €30 million for public transport. Making buses and trams free was “a political choice”, and the municipality stands by it.

Another French example worth looking at is Dunkirk, Serodio of the UGDT said. Since bus fares were abolished in 2018, ridership has risen by 125%. A survey of the town’s car drivers showed that nearly three-quarters of them (72%) used buses more often than they did before the scheme began.

In Britain, steps towards free public transport have been partial, so far, the Fare Free London event heard. Paul Shaw of Better Buses for Strathclyde reported on the success of Scotland-wide free bus travel for under-22s, introduced in January 2022.

A panel of activists discussed the potential for taking our campaign forward over the coming year. Daniel Randall, a tube train driver (speaking in a personal capacity), joined James O’Nions of Greens Organise, Martin Goodsell of Unite Community East London and Ruth Moulton of Haringey Fare Free London on the panel.

Amandine Alexandre, a Green party councillor in Brent, reported on a campaign to “Say No to Robotaxis” – driverless cars now being tested in the area – which would reinforce the car-centred transport system and strike a blow against public transport.

□ Fare Free London will hold a strategy meeting, to plan our work over the next year, on Tuesday 20 October 2026, at 7:00pm, at Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green London E1 5QJ. All welcome.