Maps of free of charge - 2/ The political slant of cities that have implemented entirely free-of-charge access

What are the political inclinations of the cities that have already implemented entirely free-of-charge access? This is the question addressed by the Observatory of Cities with Fare-Free Transport in the run-up to the next municipal elections.

Is free-of-charge public transport a left-wing or a right-wing measure? Among the fake news going around, we often hear and read that this is a measure much more popular with mayors on the left than on the right. This is probably because this proposal for free transport has been a campaign promise of communist candidates for many years. In France, however, only the city of Aubagne has implemented free of charge (in 2009) under a communist town hall. This experience is also recounted in the book Liberté, égalité, gratuité Voyageurs sans tickets, released in 2012 and co-written by the philosopher Jean-Louis Sagot-Duvauroux and the elected communist Magali Giovannangeli.

43% on the right; 40% on the left

In fact, as this map shows that, of the 35 cities that currently offer entirely free-of-charge access, as well as the 7 cities that have stopped, 43% were on the right of the political spectrum when the decision was adopted, 17% in the center, and 40% on the left. Thus, ultimately an almost perfect heterogeneity.