Technical Note—The Denver Free Fare Project as a “Habit Breaker”

The note assesses the impact on bus ridership of the year-long free fare experiment in Denver, Colorado. Data on ridership from February 1977 through October 1980, which includes 1 year before and 1½ after the experiment, are used to estimate the elasticity of ridership when the fare is reduced to zero and when it was reinstated. A cost-benefit analysis argues that the free fare demonstration projects may be justified.