NEW YORK — As a business editor, I spend a lot of time looking at investments that promise big returns and rarely deliver. So let me make the case for one that is unusually cheap and unusually effective: letting teenagers ride public transit for free.
A growing number of American cities already do some version of this, offering fare-free passes to middle and high school students. The results, while still being studied, are encouraging enough that every transit agency in the country should take a hard look.
The cost is smaller than you think
Teen fares make up a sliver of most transit budgets. In a typical mid-size city, students account for perhaps 3 to 5 percent of fare revenue, and many already ride on discounted passes. Fare collection itself costs money, from equipment and maintenance to enforcement. For some agencies, eliminating teen fares costs only a few million dollars a year, roughly what a single new bus costs to buy and operate.
Now consider what that money buys. Cities that have expanded free student passes report higher school attendance, particularly among students from low-income families who previously skipped class when they could not afford the ride. Teens use the passes to reach after-school jobs, internships, libraries and community college classes. Employers in retail and food service, struggling to fill shifts, gain access to a larger pool of workers.
A bus pass is a job application, a library card and a ride to school all at once. Few public dollars stretch that far.
Rachel Moore, business and markets editor
Building tomorrow’s riders
There is also a long-term business case. Transit agencies around the country are still working to rebuild ridership after years of decline. Habits formed at 15 tend to stick. A teenager who learns to navigate the bus network, who knows which line runs every ten minutes and which one does not, is far more likely to keep riding as an adult. In marketing terms, free teen passes are customer acquisition at a bargain price.
The idea is not without critics, and their concerns deserve a hearing:
- Crowding: some systems saw packed buses after school. The answer is better scheduling, not higher fares.
- Behavior: riders and drivers worry about rowdy groups. Agencies that pair passes with youth ambassadors and clear conduct rules report fewer problems.
- Fairness: why teens and not, say, low-wage adults? That is a reasonable question, and many cities are expanding reduced fares more broadly as well.
- Budget pressure: agencies facing deficits fear losing any revenue. State and school district partnerships can share the cost.
The pilot results are worth studying closely. In cities that have tried student passes, agencies report that teen boardings rose sharply in the first year, while operating costs barely moved, because most of those riders filled empty seats on buses that were already running. That is the definition of efficient spending: getting more value out of an asset taxpayers have already paid for.
Some taxpayers will also argue that families should simply pay for their children’s transportation. I respect that view. But school districts already spend heavily on yellow buses, and in many cities, sharing those costs with the public transit system is cheaper for everyone.
The best public investments are often the least glamorous. They do not involve ribbon cuttings or shiny new stations. They remove a small barrier that quietly keeps people from opportunity. A free bus pass in a teenager’s backpack is exactly that kind of investment.
City councils and transit boards will be drafting budgets this winter. They should find room for this one. The return will show up in classrooms, workplaces and train platforms for years to come.
