Project studies effects of cheaper public transport

VTI is involved in leading a broad research project initiated by K2, the National Knowledge Centre for Collective Mobility, to evaluate the effects of the government's investment in halving the prices of monthly passes in public transport. The project is being carried out in close collaboration with the industry.

The project consists of a quantitative part and a qualitative part. The project manager and responsible for the quantitative part is Maria Börjesson, Professor of Economics with a transport focus at VTI and researcher at K2.

"It's very rare that we see such a large-scale change in public transport and have the opportunity to follow it. For us as researchers, it's a dream. We're going to work at full speed this autumn and try to get preliminary data as early as October," she says.

Joel Hansson, researcher at Lund University (LTH) and K2, leads the qualitative part.

"It's unique to be able to work with this type of comprehensive reform that is also being implemented nationally, it's very exciting and it's also very fun to work with something that interests so many people," he says.

The quantitative part of the project examines the effects on travel and ticket sales as a result of the reform. The qualitative part focuses on how the price reduction is perceived and what practical consequences it will have for the regional public transport authorities (RKM).

An interesting question is whether more people will park their cars when it is cheaper to have a monthly pass, especially when the price reduction applies to a limited time. Maria Börjesson emphasizes that right now it is also relatively cheap to drive a car due to reduced taxes on fuel.

"No traffic researcher believes in such large effects there, but we don't know. We will do our best to investigate it and, as far as possible, also measure driving and cycling, but it is detective work," she says.

Prices in public transport are a recurring topic of discussion. Maria Börjesson emphasizes that the question is what the purpose of a price reduction is and what it actually achieves.

"Does it lead to more public transport journeys, fewer car journeys or, above all, to people changing their ticket form? Do new passengers come from the car or from walking and cycling, as we have seen before? Does it benefit resource-poor groups, or does it lead to behavioural changes? By following the reform, we can assess whether it will have the desired effect and whether it is an effective way of using tax money. This knowledge is important for future political decisions," says Maria Börjesson.

To facilitate data collection, a reference group with industry representatives has been formed and cooperation with the metropolitan regions has already begun.

"Everyone has been very interested and realized how important this is, but it is a lot of work for them. We are very grateful to K2's and the Swedish Public Transport Association for making this work, otherwise it would not have worked," says Maria Börjesson.

Johan Wadman, CEO of the Swedish Public Transport Association, is a member of the reference group for the project.

"I think that K2 and we in the industry have acted lightning fast on this. The government's announcement came completely unexpectedly and K2 could not have reacted faster. As far as I know, no similar study is underway and this shows the value of K2 for us in the industry," he says.

Text: Anna Maria Erling

Link to the project (in Swedish):

Halved price of season tickets in public transport – effects on travel and revenue – K2

See also the K2 report (in Swedish):

The importance of ticket prices in public transport – a knowledge overview and external monitoring