(Iowa City, Iowa) There was a psychiatrist, a librarian, a substitute teacher, and a biomedical engineering graduate student. There was an Amazon warehouse worker coming home from the night shift and a man who had lost his driver’s license in Florida (he wouldn’t say why).
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Everyone had taken the bus on a sunny November morning in Iowa City and everyone was delighted with the price: it was free.
Iowa City abolished bus pricing in August 2023 to reduce pollution and ease congestion on the streets. The two-year pilot was so popular that the city council funded a one-year extension by increasing utility taxes by 1 percent and doubling parking meter rates.
PHOTO ANNICK SJOBAKKEN, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Passengers at a bus stop in Iowa City, Iowa, on Nov. 3, 2025. Iowa City eliminated bus fares in August 2023 with a goal of lowering emissions from cars and encouraging people to take public transit. Ridership jumped, people cut back on driving and, over the summer, the city extended the program another year. (Annick Sjobakken/The New York Times)
Bus ridership is up 18% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Drivers report that the streets are less congested. According to the municipality, motorists traveled 2.9 million fewer kilometers in the city and emissions fell by 24,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent of removing 5,200 vehicles from the road.
“There is no longer a monthly subscription that cost $31; it ends up counting,” says Vincent Hiser, 71, on the No. 1 bus, heading from his job at the Bread Garden Market to the mobile home he shares with Ruby, his dog, and Roy Rogers, his cat.
The Mamdani effect
Free buses are quite rare in American cities. There has been renewed interest since Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York by promising free public transportation. This project, however, is criticized as utopian and the governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, has expressed her doubts.
PHOTO ANNICK SJOBAKKEN, THE NEW YORK TIMES
After two years as a pilot project, zero pricing is so popular that the city council funded its one-year extension last summer.
But in Iowa City, a college town, zero pricing hasn’t made waves. The increase in downtown parking meters has caused a bit of friction. In the summer of 2024, when the fee increased from $1.50 to $3, merchants protested. The City reduced the cost to $2.25. A reasonable compromise, says Betsy Potter, director of the Iowa City Downtown District: the last increase was 11 years ago.
According to Mme Potter, downtown businesses support free buses: it attracts people to the city and workers ride free.
The city center is walkable, but the rest of the city is not. It’s a great success.
Betsy Potter, director of the Iowa City Downtown District
According to Darian Nagle-Gamm, director of Iowa City Transit, Uncertainty over federal funding and proposed property tax changes mean the City may need to review the program annually. But she sees strong citizen support for maintaining free access. “Public transportation is one of the best tools to combat climate change and reduce emissions,” she says. The impact is almost immediate. »
According to Mme Nagle-Gamm, zero pricing was born from a conversation with the city’s general manager in 2018 about the book Free Public Transit: And Why We Don’t Pay to Ride in Elevators (Free public transport: why elevators are free). The City wanted to improve its public transport and increase ridership while reducing household expenses. Additionally, Iowa City’s climate action plan aimed to replace 55 percent of car trips with walking, biking and public transit by 2050. Free buses checked all of those boxes.
Zero pricing
In 2021, the City put more buses into service, streamlined routes and took an in-depth look at eliminating the $1 fare. In 2023, the city council funded a two-year zero-pricing pilot project through a COVID-19 relief fund.
Attendance reached 118% of the pre-pandemic level, while the national average peaked at 85%.
William Porter, night worker and frequent user, finds that people are in a better mood since the free service. He would like the neighboring town of Coralville to also eliminate its $1 fare. “It should apply to both cities, people commute between the two,” he said.
At first, there were fears that free service would increase the workload of drivers, attract the homeless or encourage bad behavior. However, several drivers emphasize that not having to demand payment has reduced tensions with users.
There are fewer delays, they add, because no one delays others by looking for their money. According to the City, on-time arrivals increased by 13%. “We don’t have to monitor payments and explain fares anymore, but there are more people on board, that’s for sure,” said Justin Jones, a driver for Iowa City Transit for 15 years.
PHOTO ANNICK SJOBAKKEN, THE NEW YORK TIMES
A municipal bus in Iowa City, Iowa, on November 3, 2025. Iowa City adopted zero pricing in August 2023 to reduce pollution and ease congestion on the streets. Attendance increased and people reduced their car trips.
That morning, Mr. Jones was driving the No. 10 bus, which runs from downtown to the west side of the city across the Iowa River.
Abbas Mahadi, 20, boarded the plane holding the hand of his 6-year-old cousin, whom he was accompanying to primary school. According to him, free public transport is essential for his family. “Without the free buses, it would be too difficult for us,” he said.
Bus number 10 stopped in front of a primary school and Abbas Mahadi helped his young cousin get off and then cross the street. The driver waited for Mr. Mahadi to get back on board. Then he shifted into gear and continued on his way.
This article was published in the New York Times.
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