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"Free fares increase ridership, and more riders mean more spending. More riders plus streetcar outcomes noted earlier are associated with $2.3 million more tax revenue in 2023 than in 2019, adjusted for inflation. This excludes all other revenues, which are substantial.

The bottom line is that the $800,000 in waived streetcar fares is associated with $2.3 million in new tax revenue since 2019 for a net gain of $1.5 million.

Put differently, each $1.00 of waived fares is associated with $2.88 in new tax revenue."
https://tucson.com/opinion/column/local-opinion-streetcar-benefits-offset-free-fares/article_267a4da6-a5d9-11ef-8a86-0361b8d030a2.html