The Behavioral Impact of Free Public Transport in Stavanger, Norway

Free public transport was introduced for residents of Stavanger municipality, Norway, in June 2023 through December 2023. This paper analyzes travel behavioral effects. We apply the change in total number of boardings in public transport in Stavanger municipality compared to neighboring municipalities (i.e., difference-in-differences). The data are based on automatic passenger counts (APC) on buses operated by the public transport provider in the area (Kolumbus). We find a 7.5 % increase in the number of boardings in Stavanger compared to the rest of the county (Rogaland) after the introduction of free public transit.