The free parking subsidy — the valuable real estate along the curb that cities reserve for cars — is estimated to cost $100 billion to $300 billion, greatly exceeding the sums cities would need to spend to make transit free. It is therefore encouraging to see that a growing number of cities across the country are offering free bus service to riders. Though most cities to experiment with free transit in America have been midsize, several of the country’s major cities are now in various stages of trying out free buses. Unfortunately, a handful of smaller cities that have tried out free transit have backtracked — mostly for financial reasons. Thus far, experience suggests that free transit is a lot more practical than adding lanes to urban grids as a solution to this inevitable urban dilemma.

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