Every. Time.

https://satwcomic.com/every-time

I absolutely support free medical coverage and free education... but I cannot put transportation in the same wagon. People who say that it is paid by taxes and it is not free are not wrong thou. The article should notnuse free but a different word. The system in nordic countries is wonderful but it is also starting to get abused.

Nothing, except maybe for sunlight, is costless. Someone is always paying. Free means the users don't pay, not that it doesn't cost anyone anything.

Users dont pay directly. But they still pay via some form. It is actually prepaid in this case

Some users pay, some don't. Not everyone is a net tax payer. And not every tax payer is a user.

Agreed

> World's First Entirely Tax-Funded Public Transport Nation

World's First Entirely EU-Tax-Funded Public Transport Nation

Estonia gets quite significant subsidies, subventions, grants and whatever other aid from EU so they can afford such experiments.

Interestingly, EU officials are also happy because they see the impact as opposed to having money simply disappeared - which is not an exception. Only EU tax payers and donor countries might not be happy because they have to pay for this fun and for their own transportation too - but who asks them :(

Do you have any proof that links EU funds being used for this?

You ask as if it were some criminal activity. Actually, I find using external funds not bad at all whether they are used directly or indirectly (feasibility studies, investments in infrastructure like roads etc.)

I just wanted to say that without having significant financial support from EU Estonia would hardly be able to carry out such experiments with "free" services.

I think you are mistaken. That is why I ask. Every euro from EU is given to a country for a specific thing. Regional development, building roads, public parks etc. I am wondering what EU grants can be converted to cover public transportation.

It's a matter of political will, not foreign grants. Additional subsidies that enable free public transport are 25 million EUR per year [1]. State budget for 2018 is 10 308 million EUR [2].

[1] https://www.err.ee/640797/valitsus-pole-veel-tasuta-uhistran...

[2] https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/129122017031

He doesn’t need it, it’s dogma

Yeah, the problem with the EU is really that the small peripheral countries have too much influence, whereas the wealthy countries are bullied submission /s

And here I thought EU will mean equality and not Europe on two speeds.