Fare Free London has been very active, with a meeting with the GLA, a mention in a comment piece in the Standard, learning about new examples of free public transport from across Europe, leafletting in Haringey, and of course our regular organising meetings. Organising help is always welcome, please get in touch with us if you would like to get involved – even if you have not done any campaigning before.
At the end of April, Fare Free London had our first meeting with GLA staff to lobby for free public transport in London. The tone of the meeting was positive, although our first-step demand of a commission to investigate the feasibility of free public transport was not agreed to. We received positive coverage after the meeting in The Standard and in the trade press Transport Xtra.
Fare Free London also got an extensive mention in a comment piece in The Standard, about the opening of the Silvertown Tunnel, a new road tunnel under the River Thames in London. The author writes that “free public transport, already a reality in dozens of cities internationally, is the sort of drastic, demonstrative action needed to tackle climate change. It would strike a blow for social equality. A funding shake-up would be needed, but that’s better than pouring money into new roads” and continues “We don’t need more tunnels. We need rational, low-traffic, socially just transport policies, to make our city an even nicer place to live.”
Regular leafletting in Haringey has been continuing apace. Haringey Solidarity Group (haringey.org.uk) and Fare Free London leaflet every weekend in Turnpike Lane. They say all public transport should be free to all. They report that lots of people are signing the petition, which calls on the GLA to make public transport free.
We have also been learning about examples of cities where free public transport already exists – in Belgrade (Serbia) and in Genoa (Italy).
- Belgrade commenced its policy of free public transport for all on 1 January 2025. There isn’t a metro system, and the city relies mainly on trams, and buses and trolleybuses. The policy of free public transport seems to be accompanied by investment to improve and upgrade the fleets. “The city administration hopes that this will lead to a reduction in harmful emissions and improve the environmental situation in the Serbian capital.” according to one article.
- Genoa has just ended its trial of free public transport for residents only. It lasted from 1 January 2024 until 30 April 2025 and was valid only on the city’s 7km Metro line and the lifts/funiculars up the hills. Over 70s and under 14s had free travel on the whole network, including buses, and the cost of an annual ticket for the whole network was cut in half (from 650 EUR to 295). A quote from the AMT, the transport administrating body in Genoa, explains that the increase in people buying cheaper annual tickets (and a more expensive single ticket for the buses) more than covered the costs of the reductions, stating that “We applied an economic principle: the lower the price, the more demand naturally increases. But we have noticed that the price decrease must be significant.” The AMT has declared the trial a success, saying in the same article in Infra Journal that the increase in ridership was “beyond imagination”, and are pursuing longer term price reductions, to further fund their goals of electrifying the network and building park-and-ride car parks. We have heard that some people in Genoa are unhappy with the quality of the existing services and would like them to be improved at the same time.
Please contact us if you have any more information about international examples of free public transport.
Published: 19 May 2025.
