A free travel pass is the privilege of a certain class of

passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

s to use a

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

service without paying a fare or presenting a ticket. They may need to present an identification card produced by their employer or other sponsoring organization, or by the transit provider.

Types of passenger

The following types of passenger sometimes receive free travel on transport services: * Students (e.g. U-Pass) * The elderly * The

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

* Low Income and/or public benefit recipient * Children under 18 or 20 years old * System employees and their dependents * Public safety workers and military personnel

Funding

Free travel for various types of passenger may be funded by: * national, regional or local governments, through taxation * cross subsidy from other passengers * employers for their staff * schools or universities, through their students' fees or education funding

List of examples

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

- Free public transport for everyone 75 years and over. ** Victoria,

- The Myki Access Travel Pass is a free Travel Pass for people with a significant permanent disability who travel independently on Victoria's public transport network. *

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

- all children 14 and under (no pass required), all high school students attending a high school in the City of Kingston (pass required), all recipients of Ontario Works benefits (pass required), companions assisting a person with a disability (application and pass required) *

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

*** The city offered free bus travel for trips under 10 km by paying with an electronic card, and fare cap of NT$10 for longer journeys. However, since ROC 110 (2021), the concession is only available with a named resident-only card, making free travel only available to local residents, and the basic fare has become NT$15 (NT$5 discount from cash fare NT$20) by paying with a non-resident card. *

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

***In

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, The Oxford Road Link (Bus route 147) offers free travel for part of the route (between

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

and MMU campuses) for university students and staff. Three free bus routes also operate in Manchester city Centre. ***England-wide travel provided by the DfT for over-60s and eligible disabled people between 09:30-23:00 weekdays and all day weekends under the English National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme. Similar schemes operate in Scotland (see below) and Wales; however there is no unified scheme covering the whole of Great Britain and national concessionary passes are valid for use only by residents of each of the three countries and only within each country. **

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

***The Scottish National Entitlement Card offers free bus and scheduled coach travel throughout Scotland for under 22s, disabled and elderly passengers. *

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

**Free travel for all persons over the age of 66. Many people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

and their carers are also eligible for free travel passes. Free travel can also be extended to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

(part of the

) with a separate document, the Senior Smart Pass. In total, nearly 1 million people (out of a population of 5 million) have free travel. *

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

** Lancaster, California - passengers of Antelope Valley Transit Authority who are disabled, senior citizens, active military, and veterans, all ride free on all local fixed route buses (with id) **

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

- employees of the Metropolitan Transit System ride free on all scheduled routes (with ID). ** Washington, D.C. - The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has a service for the disabled and persons unable to use public transit, called

MetroAccess MetroAccess is a shared-ride public transportation service for individuals in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area who are unable to use fixed-route public transit due to disability. It is managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authori ...

, which allows Metro Access card holders to use Metrobus and Metrorail trains without paying. This is also available for services provided by WMATA in Maryland and Virginia. ** Montgomery and Prince George's County, Maryland - In addition to WMATA mentioned above, Ride On in Montgomery, and TheBus in Prince George's offer free bus trips for elderly and disabled passengers (including disabled who do not have Metro Access cards.) *

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

- Free public transport for all students, unemployed persons, disabled persons (more than 70%), blood donors and everyone over 75 years *Other major cities of former Yugoslavia (

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

, Split, etc.) - free use of buses and trams for everybody over 80 (in some cities 100) years *

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

used to sell lifetime passes for unlimited first class tickets on all of its flights under the brand AAirpass. The offer was discontinued after it had been found to cause substantial losses to the company.

References

{{Public transport Public transport fare collection Free public transport

Types of passenger

Funding

List of examples

See also

References