1:41 pm Jan. 4, 20135
Mayor Michael Bloomberg believes that, in an ideal world, mass transit would be free.
"If you were gonna design, keep in mind, the perfect public transportation system, you would have it be free and you would charge people to use cars, because you want the incentive to get them to do that," said the mayor in September.
It looks like the mayor's dream has come true—not in New York City, where it will almost certainly never happen, but in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
On Wednesday, Estonian Public Broadcasting reported, "Public transport in the capital became free for registered Tallinners on New Year's Day as the city's much-debated reform took effect."
Also: "mechanical and electronic ticket validating machines will be uninstalled in the first days of the New Year."
This revolution in mass transit financing, described by the city's mayor as the first of its kind in Europe, has not come without controversy.
As the BBC reported last year, "Critics see the move as a waste of public funds and an attempt by [Mayor Edgar] Savisaar to win popularity for his centre-left Centre Party, part of the opposition in the national parliament."
Certainly, the city will have to invest more resources in its system of trollies, buses and trams than it has had to in the past.
Last year, ticket sales accounted for about 35 percent of the system's operating costs.
Much as Bloomberg might dream, this sort of thing won't ever happen in New York City, at least not any time in the forseeable future.
Aside from the obvious differences between Tallinn's system and our own—here, ticket sales account for more than 50 percent of the system's operating costs, and the M.T.A.'s service area encompasses many times the population of Tallinn—the dialogue about government investment in transit is moving in the opposite direction.
“What’s been happening in recent years, with all the anti-government attitudes, and anti-taxes and so on, fares have been going up on these things, and the poor are the ones that are getting priced out,” Elliott Sclar, a Columbia University urban planning professor, told me, for an article about free transit in October.
As Estonia goes, so goes Estonia.
Also: "mechanical and electronic ticket validating machines will be uninstalled in the first days of the New Year."
This part is not really true. Electronic ticket validation machines were just recently installed and will remain in use. Tallinners still have to validate their NFC card to register their use of public transport. People who come from outside of Tallinn can use the same card as prepaid ticket and load money onto it to pay fares.
Only ones who don't have to use that card are pensioners and under age children, but they will have to still present ID to prove their eligibility for free ride.
Previously it was possible to prove your eligibility for a ride only by presenting your ID card. Now you also have to carry that NFC card of top of ID card. Reasoning was that it helps to get data on public transport usage (where and when people use it) to make it more efficient. However this data will be seriously flawed due to the fact that large percent of public transport users don't register their usage with NFC cards (kids and pensioners).
Free mass transit in it's core is probably nice to have, but how to implement it is another question.
Regards from Estonia
well, the problem in Estonia is that the governing party along with the prime minister cares mostly just for the well off.. but the central left wing party that is in power in the capital represents its voters who are the middle class and the not so well off.. The government restricts the funds to the capital because their political oponents are in power there, so what the major did was give free transportation to registered tallinners (and students and retirees from nation-wide) which resulted in hundreds if not thousands of people registering themselves as tallinners, which in return meant that their taxes would be redirected to the capitals budget.. Tallinn might not be loosing much if not at all from this smart move.. by the way.. alot of dumb middle class and below people vote for the reform party in estonia, which clearly makes decisons only for the benifit of the well off.. odd.. for example they lower the profit taxes and increase the spending taxes.. clearly to protect profits of the well off and get more from the middle and lower classes..
It is typical estonian handicap-innovation – they destroyed all working ticket systems and nobody knows how new-one works, even bus-drivers. They used RFID system which is normally access control system in buildings instead modern system works with cellphone NFC-drive.
Although not a very common toast in the wedding ceremony, the mother of the groom speech plays a very important role in the whole ceremony, simply because, unlike the father's speeches or the best man, the wedding speech of the groom's mother will be an emotional one, filled with toughing moments and stories from the groom's past and will contrast with the funny speech held by the best man. http://www.zimbio.com/