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As an example, public transportation within the Melbourne city center is free, so one could take a free tram between Spring St and Docklands Dr:

enter image description here

The total distance (as the crow flies) between these two stops is 3.19 kilometers. Are there locations around the world where one could get farther by only utilizing free transportation?

The exact limitations are:

  • The method of transportation must be completely free of charge.
  • You cannot use any forms of self-propelled transport, such as bicycles. However you can use rickshaws or other forms of transport propelled by other humans.
  • The location where the transport is located must be publicly accessible free of charge. This excludes things like animal safaris where you pay an entrance fee, but then get to use the buses free of charge.
  • It must be available free of charge to any person regardless of citizenship, residency, age, occupation, gender or any other characteristic. This would disqualify Tallinn's public transit system, as it's only free for local residents. This likewise excludes Israel's system where transportation is free of charge for soldiers.
  • You cannot walk for more than 500 meters at a time to switch between two stops. You cannot make use of paid transportation to switch between stops.
  • Only distance as the crow flies between the two farthest stops counts, not the total distance spent within the vehicle.
  • A stop is defined as a location where you can board or exit the free method of transportation.
  • The transport must run regularly, not just as a one-off event.
  • It must be free regularly, not just during special events. E.g. in some cities public transit is free during NYE celebrations. It's okay if it's only free on weekends for example, as long as it's every weekend.
  • It's okay if you need to own a standard public transit card to use the free transport. E.g. it's okay if you need to own an Oyster card to use a given free bus in London, as long as no money is substracted from the Oyster card when you use.
  • It's okay if you need to pay a fee to receive a visa to that country or need to spend some money to fly to that country first (thanks, @vsz)
  • It's okay if the method of transportation is only free if you use a "hack" of some sort (thanks, @gparyani), as long as this hack allows for unlimited free transportation. E.g. it's okay to require one to sign-up for a free grocery store card to get access to a free bus.
JonathanReez
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    The answer to this may be set to change significantly over time. This article https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article237259354.html mentions that Kansas City, Denver, and Salt Lake City are all considering the idea of free public transit. There are also cities with partial free bus systems such as Manchester: https://tfgm.com/public-transport/bus/free-bus and Adelaide: https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/Timetables-Maps/Special-Services/Free-City-Services – Greg Hewgill Jan 09 '20 at 20:33
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    According to this (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/cruising-around-the-world-on-container-ships/) article it's possible to ride on ships for free. That would beat the accepted answer by far. But as it's not an official or likely possibility I just put it as a comment. – steros Jan 10 '20 at 08:40
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    Kiruna, Sweden had a "free buses for residents" system covering the entire municipality, which means one could travel 300 km for free as a resident (may take 2 days due to timetable limitations), but this fails your 4th criterion. – gerrit Jan 10 '20 at 09:48
  • @gerrit "Only distance as the crow flies between the two farthest stops counts, not the total distance spent within the vehicle": is Kiruna a huge municipality, or did you overlook this point? – phoog Jan 10 '20 at 14:07
  • @phoog Both (huge by western European standards at least). The municipality is 22,906 km². Riksgränsen-Kuttainen (slightly further than Karesuando but IIRC buses only running on pre-order) is 193 km as the crow flies (it would fly through Norway in this case). – gerrit Jan 10 '20 at 14:22
  • Does it have to be legal and/or allowed by the company providing the service? The current top answer involves train hopping, which some wouldn't consider as being a "legitimate" free ride. Where do you place the line for obtaining the free ride? People could just as well hide on a ship doing a trans-atlantic crossing and beat the 675km by far. – Aubreal Jan 10 '20 at 15:52
  • You specifically excluded it from the rules, so I'll add it as a comment only that it's possible for a pensioner to travel the length of England for free using only buses - a distance of approximately 500 miles (800km). – Strawberry Jan 10 '20 at 15:54
  • On New Years Eve in Chicago, all 2,230 miles of bus routes and 102.8 miles of the 'L' are free (it used to cost a penny). * "[furthest] distance" – Mazura Jan 10 '20 at 15:58
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    @AlexandreAubrey if you could reasonably do it as a tourist without fearing prosecution or fines, it's okay. We have a person on Travel.SE (GScott) who did ride the ore train, so I think it's acceptable. – JonathanReez Jan 10 '20 at 16:07
  • Is the use of "hacks" to allow free transportation on things that ordinarily charge a fare allowed? – gparyani Jan 10 '20 at 18:03
  • @gparyani yes, if the "hack" is not fare evasion :) – JonathanReez Jan 10 '20 at 18:33
  • Free as in no tickets are needed or Free as in tickets are never ever checked? Then the [tag:gothenburg] area would be a candidate – Mikael Dúi Bolinder Jan 10 '20 at 19:50
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    Do regular official yearly holidays count as special events? We have some 10 per year which are on set dates when public transport in capital is free for everybody. These are countrywide national holidays. – Gnudiff Jan 11 '20 at 16:56
  • @Gnudiff no, it has to be weekly at least – JonathanReez Jan 11 '20 at 17:30
  • Does floating down the Colorado in a dinghy qualify? – Mark Setchell Jan 12 '20 at 16:42
  • @MarkSetchell yes, if someone gives out free dinghys there to anyone who shows up – JonathanReez Jan 12 '20 at 19:36
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    I mean, if we're considering "free" to mean "you can get away with it" then stowing away on a container ship and crossing the globe could qualify. Which seems a bit silly as an answer. – Kyralessa Jan 13 '20 at 10:38
  • any place with legal casino gambling usually has a free shuttle bus. For example, in Toronto, Canada, you can get a ride to and from Niagara Falls. You do need to get a membership card (free) and call to reserve a spot – abendigo Jan 23 '20 at 15:38

27 Answers27

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675 km (420 miles) in Mauritania

People are apparently permitted to hop a free ride in an ore hopper on the iron-ore train between Noadhibou and Zouerate, Mauritania. Those able to pay $4 (at least in 2007) can upgrade to a seat in an actual passenger cabin.

GScott also mentioned this route in an answer to a prior question on where train "surfing" is legal.

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Robert Columbia
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    Looks like the train operator doesn't officially allow it though, according to the article. Otherwise a great find! – JonathanReez Jan 09 '20 at 21:28
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    @Jonathan it looks like they say they can't do anything about it. It's not clear if it is truly a violation of a specific railroad policy or legal statute or only something they wish wouldn't happen, but it seems to be that there is no penalty. For much of Africa, that's as pretty good as you are going to get-many countries have a rather weak rule of law and rather go by local "practices". – Robert Columbia Jan 09 '20 at 21:32
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    Unfortunately, the linked nytimes article is behind a (soft) paywall. – audionuma Jan 10 '20 at 07:17
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    This Washington Post article has a lot of photos of the train. – stevevance Jan 10 '20 at 07:42
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    There is a NatGeo documentary on this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEo-ykjmHgg And if you are from the cold countries, I doubt you would be able to do the whole journey without getting sick in the dust and the heat. – DumbCoder Jan 10 '20 at 07:45
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    @JonathanReez sounds like they don't like it but still allow it "If there were any other means, we would stop it." – Aubreal Jan 10 '20 at 15:40
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    @JonathanReez Strictly speaking, your criteria don't say it has to be legal. – user253751 Jan 10 '20 at 16:36
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    @user253751 I see your point, but I could somehow board a train from London to Edinburgh, dodge the ticket officer, and say that I got a 532 km / 331 mile journey for free. – ProgrammingLlama Jan 11 '20 at 01:56
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    @John_ReinstateMonica perhaps, but in my example it appears that there is no actual ticket officer to dodge. I mean, there may be one there somewhere, but they aren't in the habit of writing up non-paying passengers or kicking them off the train in the way a UK ticket officer would. – Robert Columbia Jan 11 '20 at 02:27
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    @John_ReinstateMonica Or just go as a stowaway on a transatlantic or transpacific ship. (I’d suggest a plane, but realistically, despite what some movies say, I doubt you’d be able to get on a commercial airplane as a stowaway.) – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 11 '20 at 12:52
  • @John_ReinstateMonica One of the criteria is that "It must be free regularly". So can you do the somehow and dodging regularly? I believe this would be the difference between no controls and controls, even if both are illegal transportations. – findusl Jan 12 '20 at 10:10
  • The Washington Post article says "Passengers can stow away for free in the hoppers or they can pay about $3 to sit on benches inside two passenger cars." It sounds like there may be a ticket officer. – Cody Jan 13 '20 at 19:53
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    Conditions for these passengers are incredibly harsh with daytime temperatures exceeding 40°C and death from falls being common. from Mauritania Railway wiki – John Cataldo Jan 14 '20 at 08:31
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From March 2020 all public transit in Luxembourg will be free. Luxembourg is about 60km long and well served with rail lines and bus routes, so presumably the longest trip will be about 60km.

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DJClayworth
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    Schengen to Schmett in Luxembourg is 82km and you can currently get there in 3 hours by local transport. So it might be a good contender soon, if they make it free for all. – JonathanReez Jan 10 '20 at 03:08
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    Is Schengen in the Schengen area? – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jan 10 '20 at 18:39
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    @Harper yes Schengen is in Luxembourg which is in the Schengen area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen,_Luxembourg – Peter Green Jan 10 '20 at 19:19
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    @Harper-ReinstateMonica The Schengen Treaty which defines the countries forming the “Schengen Area” was signed by the participating countries in a conference center located in the town of Schengen. It is named after the town. – Tonny Jan 10 '20 at 22:14
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    Unless you find a 24 hour circular route, in which case the distance traveled will be limited by your lifespan – Valorum Jan 11 '20 at 01:44
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    @Valorum: The question specifies straight-line distance. Traveling a full circle would give you a net distance of 0 km. – Ilmari Karonen Jan 11 '20 at 12:22
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    Having been to Luxembourg last summer, I can also say that their trains are at least as good as those in France, Germany and Italy, and substantially better than those in the UK. Their buses are also better (cleaner, more comfortable, more regular) than buses in the UK too. – Graham Jan 13 '20 at 20:48
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    @Tonny Luxembougish sources always state that both the 1985 agreement and the 1990 convention were signed on a boat. An added nicety is that it would have been close to the border point between Luxembourg, France, and Germany (which is in the river) even if for legal purposes, they are considered to have been signed in Luxembourg. – Relaxed Apr 09 '20 at 16:37
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210km (130 miles) Bangor to Cardiff Airport in Wales

The TrawsCymru long distance bus network in Wales offers free travel on weekends.

Free every weekend, no restrictions on residency, age etc.

T2 Bangor to Aberystwyth

T1C Aberystwyth to Cardiff

T9 Cardiff to Cardiff Airport

If you really want, you could put together a much longer, convoluted trip visiting all four corners of Wales. Beautiful hills and mountains all the way.

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87 km (54 miles) from Trondheim, Norway to border shopping across the Swedish border in Storlien

The route of 108 km along the road is the longest I found searching for gratisbuss (free bus) in Swedish. It is a service offered free of charge, sponsored by the supermarket Coop Extra Storlien just across the Swedish border. It is offered two times every day, and is run by the Norwegian bus company Thorleifs bussreiser who market it as a "Free shopping trip to Sweden": Gratis handletur til Sverige. In connection to Coop Extra there is also a Systembolaget, the Swedish state owned liquor store.

Border shopping is common in Scandinavia where national regulations and currency differences make it beneficial to cross the border for cheaper shopping. Typically food and especially alcohol gets cheaper every border crossing going from Norway -> Sweden -> Denmark -> Germany.

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  • Can I get off before I reach Storlien, for example, to go hiking in Meråker? – gerrit Jan 10 '20 at 09:49
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    @gerrit I see that there are multiple stops in Trondheim and also along the way in for example Stjørdal but I assume it is mainly for boarding. It says the bus only stops at locations where people have booked trips from, you have to call them beforehand to make a booking. – user1884905 Jan 10 '20 at 09:55
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    And we assume there is no requirement to actually do any shopping? – DJClayworth Jan 10 '20 at 15:17
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    @DJClayworth Not when I made the trips, but that was some years ago. My girlfriend had an internship in Storlien and I in Trondheim. I used to take the Friday afternoon bus to Storlein and go back on Sunday. Or she would come to me. The later was more complicated as she would need 2 bookings, using only the return leg to go to Trondheim and the first part on the second booking to return. I guess that qualifies as the “hack”. – Tonny Jan 10 '20 at 22:24
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    @DJClayworth Well, based on the available info on the website, shopping is not mentioned as a requirement. – user1884905 Jan 10 '20 at 22:35
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    @Tonny Wow, nice to hear from someone with first hand experience! – user1884905 Jan 10 '20 at 22:37
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    @JirkaHanika As the crow flies it is about 87 km, the actual bus-trip is 108 km. (Google Maps says 106 but that is by car. The bus takes a slightly different route that adds about 2 km. Takes about 2 hours as average speed is fairly low on that road. (Some steep inclines. And passing through several villages with the occasional stop to pick up/drop off passengers.) – Tonny Jan 11 '20 at 11:09
  • @JirkaHanika As the crow flies is to me following the geodesic as well (and I'm not US). Crows don't care about roads. In fact, although I lived in the UK for almost a year and still visit there several times a year, I've never encountered anyone in the UK who used it in the sense of "shortest route". I may post a question on the English.SE about this. I personally don't like to expand an answer when there is no real reason for it (the difference in distance is minimal and the poster wasn't interested in that bit of info anyway). – Tonny Jan 11 '20 at 13:43
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    @user1884905 It's understandable they did not conisder the possibility of someone not shopping. Who would expect a Norwegian not to shop at a systembolaget? ;) – Hagen von Eitzen Jan 11 '20 at 21:54
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    @HagenvonEitzen No Norwegian I have ever known :-) Even if that Norwegian doesn't drink a drop of alcohol himself he will still buy stuff for friends and family, upto the maximum limit he can bring over the border without having to pay customs duties. – Tonny Jan 12 '20 at 13:27
  • @JirkaHanika I posted as question on the English.SE site as promised: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/522684/has-as-the-crow-flies-2-different-interpretations-if-so-where-in-the-world-i – Tonny Jan 12 '20 at 17:06
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At the time of writing, all busses from Intercity Transit, the transit authority for the Olympia, Washington area are free. The longest route I can find is from Israel at Littlerock Rd to Tacoma Dome Station with bus routes 12 and 612. This is a total distance of 47.59 kilometres or 29.57 miles.

Unfortunately, further connections to Seattle and SeaTac airport are not free, so this appears to be the longest route in this area.

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    Aren't routes 590 and 594 free too? – JonathanReez Jan 09 '20 at 20:58
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    I didn't find the 612 Tacoma Dome stop, but you can extend a little bit with the Sound Transit Orange Line Tlink which is free. Despite adding quite a few route-miles, it only gets to 47.84 km given the orientation of the route. – jcaron Jan 10 '20 at 09:39
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The Staten Island Ferry in New York City is famous for being the only NYC service which is cheaper than it was in the 19th century (or at least they told me so), since it's free as of 1997. It covers a distance of 5.2 miles.

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    You can extend this trip by a little more than a mile, thanks to the Downtown Connection shuttle bus. – phoog Jan 10 '20 at 04:47
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    The Staten Island Ferry is also easily the best-valued tourist destination in the city—you can pay a lot of money for a Circle Line tour that travels much the same waters as the Ferry, from the south of Manhattan across New York Harbor, past the Statue of Liberty. It’s free, so it’s something I take every visiting friend or relative on. – KRyan Jan 11 '20 at 04:31
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    @KRyan It is was a very good value tourist destination in 1977 (when it was not free, but was very cheap). – Martin Bonner supports Monica Jan 12 '20 at 17:15
  • @phoog Aha! You've found my missing link! I was missing a way to connect the ferry to a free shuttle service for the NY Waterway which, during off-peak hours, can get you from West & Murray all the way up to 10th Ave & 65th near Central Park (with a connection at the Midtown terminal), another 4.5-ish miles. – feelinferrety Feb 10 '20 at 08:05
  • This turns out not even to be the longest-distance free public transit on Staten Island: the Staten Island Railway is free if you avoid the two stations closest to the ferry terminal. The longest free journey is between Stapleton station and Tottenville, 19.7km as the crow flies. Stapleton does not meet OP's criteria for being close enough to the ferry terminal to walk and combine the railway and ferry journeys, though. – mlc Sep 12 '20 at 03:53
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Many US National Parks have established free shuttle services to alleviate automobile congestion. Most such systems are disqualified by the "access point must be free of charge" clause in the question; but there are a couple of systems I could find that have free shuttles running outside of their respective parks.

  • The free Kalispell-Glacier National Park shuttle, in Montana, runs in July and August. Between the Rosauers stop and the Cenex Hungry Horse stop (both outside of the park) is a distance of 29 km or 18 miles.

  • The Island Explorer shuttle system is associated with Acadia National Park in Maine. Acadia's transit buses stop in several locations outside of the park, and it happens that the two farthest-flung stops (Acadia Welcome Center and Bass Harbor Campground) are both outside of the park, so a park pass should not be necessary. The distance between these stops is approximately 26 km or 16 miles.

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  • Good point! This made me think of Yosemite, but, unfortunately, YARTS isn't free, so it wouldn't count. It runs about 85 miles to Mammoth Lakes on one side and 70 to Fresno on the other. The fares are actually less than admission to Yosemite and include admission, though. – reirab Jan 10 '20 at 08:08
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    Do you pay for entering US national parks? – JollyJoker Jan 10 '20 at 08:50
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    @JollyJoker yes. – CMaster Jan 10 '20 at 09:58
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    @CMaster as far as I have experienced it, national parks are free for people. The fee one pays on entrance is for the vehicle. I'm not sure what Jonathan Reez would make of that for the purpose of the criteria in the question. – phoog Jan 10 '20 at 14:11
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    @phoog correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you pay a $15 fee even if you hike up to the entrance? – JonathanReez Jan 10 '20 at 14:22
  • @JonathanReez I know that's the situation at Glacier. We arrived by train and still had to pay when entering the park on foot (even though it was the dead of winter and the entrance was unstaffed). – Mark Jan 10 '20 at 14:49
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    I think in most parks you have to pay even when entering on foot. My annual all parks membership stated that it's valid for one car or 5 (or 4?) people on foot. But some of them also have regular days when entry is free - for example for Yosemite at the bottom of the page: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/fees.htm – pbm Jan 10 '20 at 15:03
  • @JonathanReez No, you are correct. I was confused. The fee varies by park. I have been to more than one park where the situation was as I described, but I suspect that these were not NPS parks, because I've never been to the NPS parks where it is the case. – phoog Jan 10 '20 at 15:18
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    @JollyJoker it depends on the park. For both Acadia and Glacier, the answer is yes. Acadia is $15 and Glacier is $20: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/entrance-fee-prices.htm – phoog Jan 10 '20 at 15:20
  • Every place I have been with shuttles has an admission fee--having an annual (or lifetime for seniors) pass costs money and thus doesn't meet the conditions of the question. Likewise, while there are free days that violates his special conditions rule. (BTW, the pass is supposed to get you 4 people on foot, but I have entered Zion with 5, no problem. Same 5 at Carlsbad caverns required one ticket. Note that you can drive into Zion, you can't drive into Carlsbad.) – Loren Pechtel Jan 20 '20 at 17:34
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170 km free trips from St. Petersburg to Finland (and back)

As advertised on classifieds service and elsewhere.

Those trips are genuinely free and available regularly for anyone who has finnish visa.

The rationale is that they are going to (ab)use your free per-person customs limit. I.e. import some goods free of customs charge. But it's legal and free for you as a traveller.

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alamar
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  • Looks like they would be angry if you used it as a one way ride though? – JonathanReez Jan 10 '20 at 16:08
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    @JonathanReez perhaps so, but route flexibility is not one of conditions. I think they will always happily accept you for the ride back, though. – alamar Jan 10 '20 at 16:26
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    Good point about the ride back. Could be an interesting way to travel to Russia :) – JonathanReez Jan 10 '20 at 16:29
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    Is it really legal though? The per-person custom limits are usually for private/personal use. – poizan42 Jan 12 '20 at 10:59
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    @poizan42 I'm pretty sure that the drivers of those trips are the experts on both customs laws as well as established practices. – alamar Jan 12 '20 at 19:10
  • In which direction does one need to bring goods? Generally, Finns want cheap alcohol from Russia and Russians want premium foodstuffs (mostly cheese) from Finland.

    If it's bringing alcohol from Russia to Finland then it's absolutely not legal and Finnish customs will confiscate the alcohol and fine you.

    If it's bringing foodstuffs from Finland to Russia I think there is much more leniency, and I could easily imagine it being accepted practice at the border.

     – V.S. Jan 20 '20 at 16:04
  • @V.S. I think there is some allowance for personal use, is there not? Certainly there is for taking food, ets, into Russia. – alamar Jan 20 '20 at 16:57
  • @alamar Yes, possibly. But I know for certain that bringing imports, especially alcohol and tobacco, from Russia into Finland e.g. as a payment for your travel will lead to trouble with the Finnish customs since it is unequivocally illegal & enforced – V.S. Jan 20 '20 at 17:15
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    "For example, when a cousin of the bride arrives as a wedding guest, they cannot bring in alcohol for their cousin’s wedding and alcohol brought in cannot be served as thanks to volunteers helping out at the wedding; neither can a person bring in alcohol to their friends." -- whoa, that's officially fascist. – alamar Jan 20 '20 at 19:39
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Island Transit in Washington state, USA does not charge fares. This route from the March's Point Park and Ride to the Clinton Ferry Terminal covers about 54 miles by road, somewhat less as the crow flies because Whidbey Island is rather windy.

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I posted the answer below before I saw the condition: It must be available free of charge to any person regardless of citizenship, residency, age, occupation, gender or any other characteristic. Sorry. I still like the idea though. :)

874 miles in the UK, from Land's End (south-west corner of England) to John o'Groats (northern tip of Scotland) ... but only if you're over 60

This is the furthest that can be travelled in mainland Britain, and therefore is famous for long-distance challenges. The Wikipedia page for the journey includes reference to the journey time by public transport, although the page assumes that the train can be taken for part of the journey. Bus services run to both Land's End and John o'Groats though, and there are no "islands" of bus services in the UK which do not interconnect to other bus services, so it certainly is possible to travel that distance solely by bus.

That matters, because people over 60 in the UK can travel for free on buses. In England and Wales there is the Older person's bus pass. Scotland has its own equivalent scheme. The traveller would need both of these passes to carry out their journey, but both passes are free.

956 miles in the UK, from Land's End (south-west corner of England) to Lerwick (Shetland Isles) ... but only if you're over 60 AND you live in Shetland, Orkney or the Western Isles of Scotland

The free travel scheme for Scotland has a further provision. Quoting from the website:

Cardholders living in Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles receive two free return ferry journeys each year to the Scottish mainland.

The furthest ferry journey available here is to Lerwick in Shetland. Shetland does not have a bus service on the island, so your public transport adventure ends here.

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    OP explicitly said it must be available to anyone regardless of age... – poizan42 Jan 10 '20 at 11:21
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    Concessionary free bus travel is available for people over state pension age in England. For Scotland and Wales the qualifying age is 60. There are also different arrangements for London residents over 60 on all public transport. The concession only applies within the country of main residence and some border areas. – David Marshall Jan 10 '20 at 12:50
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    Even if the age limit wasn't a disqualifying issue, these passes seem to be available only to residents of the UK. – I'm with Monica Jan 11 '20 at 08:22
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    The Scottish scheme does not give free travel to residents of England and the English scheme does not give free travel to residents of Scotland, so one individual can't go from Land's End in England to John o'Groats in Scotland for free. – John MacLeod Jan 14 '20 at 19:52
  • In case search engine picks this up: Shetland does have bus services, though for 60+ (with an entitlement card) you will only get free travel up to Toft -- the ferry between Toft, Mainland and Ulsta, Yell will cost them 80p as of 2023. – B.Liu Sep 25 '23 at 10:14
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kootenay_Lake_Ferry (9 km, claims to be "longest free scenic ferry in the world"):

The Kootenay Lake Ferry is a ferry across the Kootenay Lake in British Columbia, Canada. It operates between Balfour, on the west side of the lake, and Kootenay Bay, on the east side. It is the longest free scenic ferry in the world.

Also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_public_transport has some relevant pointers.

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Another cool one, as it crosses an international border:

Since September 1st 2018 all buses in Dunkirk, France, run by DK'bus are free. This includes line 20, which has a terminus at Gare d'Adinkerque in Belgium (aka. De Panne Station).

The longest journey I could find on this network is 46.665km long, from "Gare d'Adinkerque" to "Grand Fort-Philippe Flaque aux Espagnols". It takes just over 2 hours, and has 2 transfers.

On one end, at Adinkerque, the network connects with the (non-free) Belgian Coast Tram, which at 67km in length, is considered the longest tram line in the world. The bus stop is located at the De Panne Railway Station which has regular trains.

On the other end, at Grand Fort-Philippe, the network is close to Calais, whose buses also became free on the 21st of December 2019. Unfortunately the two networks don't seem to be connected, so it is not possible to go from Dunkirk to Calais for free using public transport.

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  • It looks like there is much more than 500m between the DK'bus network (Dunkerque) and the SITAC network (Calais) :( – dolmen Jan 21 '20 at 10:43
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    @dolmen Yes, but the longest journey I gave is entirely without DK'bus network, and I do end with "Unfortunately the two networks don't seem to be connected". – mcarton Jan 21 '20 at 10:46
  • I was a bit surprised that the two networks are so close and yet unconnected (although the normal way to go from Dunkirk to Calais would be train, someone living on the edge of one network and working on the edge of the other network can't apparently take the bus to work without a really long detour :() – mcarton Jan 21 '20 at 10:48
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Not exactly public transportation, but if you do a free Viking Line membership then you can take a free ferry from Kapellskär (north of Stockholm) to Mariehamn, Åland Islands (Finland) and back, a distance of around 80km each direction.

Seems like it now costs 20 SEK (2 Euro), so not free anymore

Rsf
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    How many times per year can you take this ferry for free? Just once as a bonus for signing up? – JonathanReez Jan 10 '20 at 15:41
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    As much as you want, they make money from selling tax free goods on-board (tobacco and bc alcohol mainly) , food and beverages – Rsf Jan 10 '20 at 20:01
  • That's a great answer then. Could you just add a link to the page showing that it is indeed free? I couldn't find it in the link within your post. – JonathanReez Jan 10 '20 at 20:16
  • Unfortunately not, there is no prices page and since viking line are a private company they can change the prices. But it had been free for the lasts years – Rsf Jan 11 '20 at 07:49
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    While Viking Line cruises can indeed be nearly free (and in my experience they hand out coupons for actual free cruises quite liberally), I couldn't really find a ticket that would actually be zero-cost without a coupon. Searching on their Swedish site, I did manage to find a Kapellskär-Mariehamn day cruise sold for 20 SEK (slightly under 2€; note that this particular route seems to be temporarily out of service until 7 Feb 2020) to Viking Club members, which is practically free, but not actually so. – Ilmari Karonen Jan 11 '20 at 12:56
  • Good catch @Karonen, it used to be free but looks like it changed – Rsf Jan 11 '20 at 15:10
  • The hostel in Kapellskar has on their website that you can get free ferry tickets if you stay with them. – Willeke Jan 21 '20 at 20:50
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13.16 miles one-way on the Boston MBTA

During the Tobin Bridge/Chelsea Curves Rehabilitation Project, which will last until late 2020, all inbound buses on the Silver Line 3 (SL3) are free. The Silver Line bus lets off in South Station, which has free transfers to the Red Line of the subway. The most distant stop on the subway is Braintree, resulting in 13.16 miles of travel as the crow flies.

Here's a map.

isaacg
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    If I recall how the T works correctly this would have included free transfers to all Iines of the subway, but Riverside appears to be slightly closer to Chelsea than Braintree is, so that doesn't change the answer. – Michael Lugo Mar 12 '24 at 16:58
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Hitchhiking: 1000s of km

I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet, but I've traveled across Europe completely free by hitchhiking. Seems to meet all the limitations of the question. In my experience, if you stick to the main routes and you acquaint yourself with the hitchhiking customs of the country you're in (see hitchwiki.org) this can be quite reliable.

JanKanis
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    I don't think this qualifies, because the transport is not regularly scheduled. – Dave Tweed Jan 11 '20 at 15:24
  • @DaveTweed It's not scheduled, but that is not a requirement, and there are also public transport lines that run without a schedule. And 'scheduled' doesn't mean much in certain countries. It is certainly regular as opposed to one-off, and also in the sense that (depending on the time and place) it can be quite dependable. – JanKanis Jan 11 '20 at 15:43
  • Hitch-hiking customs in not all countries are completely free to the traveller. – gerrit Jan 11 '20 at 17:54
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    I think "The transport must run regularly, not just as a one-off event." rules out private cars that happen to be going in your direction. – Dave Tweed Jan 11 '20 at 21:04
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    That's great out of the box thinking. I think it's acceptable and I've done it myself :) – JonathanReez Jan 12 '20 at 01:32
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    @DaveTweed I agree this answer is a bit of an edge case, but it's not easy to define a rule that excludes hitchhiking but does not exclude some of the other answers or potential answers here. It's a continuous scale, and the usefulness of this answer depends on what you want to use the answers for. – JanKanis Jan 12 '20 at 15:51
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    Cars from which you can ask a hike run regularly. It's not the same car, but neither is it the same physical vehicle on a bus or train line. – JanKanis Jan 12 '20 at 15:54
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Casino shuttles

Many gambling casinos offer free shuttle buses from nearby cities.

I'm not going to try to search for the longest such trip, but I know that at one time, the trip from Philadelphia, PA to Atlantic City, NJ was either free or "effectively free" (fare was offset by casino credits). That's a trip of about 60 miles (100 km).

Dave Tweed
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4

Hm .. Halle (Germany, Saxony-Anhalt) comes to my mind - you can start in the north - e.g. Line 3 ffom Trotha, travel right through Halle's city center - end end up in Bad Duerrenberg

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You just have to switch in Halle's center to Line 5.

The whole length is about 50km - I'm not certain about actual distance as the crow flies .. But the head mayor of Halle has announced to make public transit cost free - only when actually checking it is not free yet .. and I cant find any hint about when they will enable cost free

eagle275
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The most magical, and genuinely free, option would be the 5.7 miles from the gates of Magic Kingdom to Disney's All-Star Movies Resort.

  1. Ferry to the Transportation and Ticket Center.
  2. Monorail to Epcot.
  3. Bus to Disney's Boardwalk Resort
  4. Friendship Boat to International Gateway
  5. Disney Skyliner to Disney's Hollywood Studios
  6. Bus to Disney's All-Star Movies Resort.

-or-

  1. Bus from Magic Kingdom to Disney's All-Start Movies Resort. (But what fun would that be? :)

This seems to be the most free option since it's not publicly funded or subsidized.*

No park ticket required. No hotel stay required.

*RCID is 'publicly' funded exclusively by the Walt Disney Company.

DTRT
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    My guess on the DV (it wasn't me) is that 5.7 miles isn't even close to the "longest" distance, since there are already quite a few answers considerably longer than that. – Darrel Hoffman Jan 10 '20 at 17:25
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    @DarrelHoffman yeah, but location, location, location. Marituana is not the happiest place on earth! – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jan 10 '20 at 18:45
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    I didn't DV either, but isn't this free trip also taking you to places where they're expecting you'll give them bunches of money? – Dronz Jan 10 '20 at 19:27
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    @Dronz Like malls, districts, sports venues that subsidize transit stops? Nothing at all unusual about that. Very common. – DTRT Jan 11 '20 at 16:24
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    I think it is really sad that whole generations of people have all their fairy tales forced into a prefabricated look by one company. Please realize that happiness does not depend on company looks, however hard the people work. Nature is still better in my view. – Willeke Jan 11 '20 at 16:35
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    @Willeke I suspect anyone describing it as a happy place of sarcasm. – gerrit Jan 11 '20 at 17:57
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    @Willeke It's ok, I hope one day you open your mind to appreciate all natural creations, even those made at the hand of people. I see you used the word 'prefabricated'. Sorry, no. Sure some ride systems are manufactured to spec but most are unique works as creative as any sculpture. And what surrounds them are works as artful as anything you'd find in any gallery. – DTRT Jan 11 '20 at 20:15
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    @gerrit The hundreds of millions of people that visit theme parks every year might disagree. Please be respectful of other peoples views. – DTRT Jan 11 '20 at 20:23
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    Perhaps this distance is not among the longest simply because ... it's a small world after all – Hagen von Eitzen Jan 11 '20 at 22:00
  • I downvoted because the "it's really truly free not fake free like these others that use public funds" is offensive. Free because they're sure they will extract the cost of it from you without you knowing is not a free I like. Also "Disney World is nice and Africa is horrible" is strongly implied. None of these criteria were in the question, and there were longer free rides already posted. There seems to be no good reason to have posted it other than to object to government funding of public transit and call Disney magical. – Kate Gregory Jan 23 '20 at 16:28
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    @KateGregory Umm...either you commented on the wrong Answer or...didn't actually read the Answer. Please provide the exact quote where I mentioned...Africa??? As an actual African, I guess should be offended by that unfounded assertion...but I'm laughing to hard. Anyway...please re-read the Question and my Answer and I'm sure it'll be clear (hmm...why does that sound so familiar :) And srsly, what's wrong with having some fun with this...wow... – DTRT Jan 24 '20 at 14:13
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on planet (spaceship) earth, a free ride is available across the solar system/galaxy/universe, distance traveled depends on when you board (are born) and when you get off (when you die).

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    Mostly, distances on earth are measured relative to earth. So staying in the same place on earth generally isn't considered travelling even if we take into account that we've changed position relative to other planets in the universe. – JJJ Jan 12 '20 at 22:07
  • @JJ for Transparency and Monica you can find sources that use the word 'travel' when describing what the earth is doing in space. https://www.quora.com/How-far-through-the-universe-does-the-Earth-travel-in-1-year https://www.answers.com/Q/How_far_through_the_universe_does_the_earth_travel_in_1_year https://www.answers.com/Q/How_fast_does_Earth_travel_through_space –  Jan 12 '20 at 22:12
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1200 km from Brest to Nice, France.

French Railways company idTGV used to have a scheme allowing you to travel for free if in exchange you run some entertainment aboard the train during 2/3 of the time. Around 80% of users offered music, but other options included magic tricks or osteopathy. The scheme was called "voyageur acteur".

Why it might not qualify:

  • you need a change in Paris between two train stations, more than 500m. There are lots of free options but it needs some thinking. You might want to restrict the traveled length to Paris - Nice if changing in Paris is not allowable.
  • the scheme ran for several years around 2010, but is not in place anymore.
  • you can be considered "working" aboard the train, so it's more a barter than a free ride.
jrouquie
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Since you include 'Hacks', would rafting the length of a river be considered for this? Rivers run regularly, across large distances, and many world wide do not have restrictions on if you can be on them. I do not know the longest which is unregulated however.

I tried to have a more creative answer on this one.

AlbinoRhino
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    Rafts are self propelled, which goes against one of the conditions – JonathanReez Jan 10 '20 at 20:51
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    A simple flotation device with no propellant or energy, it just goes with the flow of the river – AlbinoRhino Jan 10 '20 at 20:52
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    You still need to own that device then, which isn't free. – JonathanReez Jan 10 '20 at 20:58
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    On you can just float yourself down without a raft, but that's clearly against the spirit of the question. – gerrit Jan 11 '20 at 17:56
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    This feels like it fits. I've rafted down rivers in Northern Thailand on rafts of bamboo, lashed together with bamboo leaves. You neither buy nor rent the raft, but the ride is free since you're performing a service, delivering the bamboo for people downriver to use as construction materials. – Dewi Morgan Jan 12 '20 at 22:10
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    @DewiMorgan you gotta be careful with that though. Before you know it, you end up illegally crossing a border. It happened to me. ;p – JJJ Jan 12 '20 at 22:20
  • Citizens of Zurich often jump into Limmat during summer (without any gear) and let the river take them to their destination. (I suppose only one way). – Viktor Sec Jan 20 '20 at 15:17
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Just under 300 million kilometers

According to former physicist David Sims:

The longest straight line that can be fit into an ellipse fitted to Earth’s orbit is... 299,195,741,400 meters

I think this meets all your criteria except for boarding and exiting, but you might be able to hack those depending on your spiritual beliefs.

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Summit County, CO has a nice, free bus system (https://summitcountyco.gov/586/Transit-Summit-Stage) that runs between the towns and various ski resorts in the area. With just a quick check, I think Arapahoe Basin to Copper Mountain is the longest distance at just under 29km as the crow flies.

KarenElissa
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Between Sunbury & Pakenham, prior to 07:00

These two Melbourne suburbs have a "As the Cocky Flies" distance of 86.8km between them (Cocky Flies, Geoscience Australia tool)

I am aware of much larger distances in other answers, but given that the OP gave an example in Melbourne, I provide what I believe is the longest example in Melbourne.

The exact conditions are described in the Victorian Fares and Ticketing Manual (warning - heavy reading), but are also summarised in the Early Bird train travel section of Metropolitan Fares. My summary follows:

  • You should exit the system before 07:00am, but they give 15 minutes grace
  • You must use an operational Myki card, and it must have positive balance [uncertain if a zero balance qualifies]. No money is subtracted upon exit.
  • The trip must be less than 2 hours (from touch-on to touch-off)
  • Only between electric train stations (not V/Line)
  • There's a transfer at Flinders St station, but this is about 200m or less to walk to change platforms (which meets the under 500m condition)
  • About the 2 hour limit
    • You can't do it directly on most days (weekday morning 04:32 - 06:51, 2h19m, other days are similar)
    • ... but you can sidestep the issue by tagging out at Flinders St, then back in, when you transfer. That makes two trips before 07:15, each less than 2 hours.
Kiwi Nick
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All buses in Park city Utah are free. One route goes as far as Kimball Junction and it's roughly 8 miles away.

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As a NSW Pensioner I get two free trips on trainlink NSW. So I can take a train and bus from the Queensland Border to the Victorian Border for free. To be truthful I think this is the situation in all Australian states, a person can travel from state border to border. So for a Western Australian they can go from the bottom of WA to the Top of WA which would possibly make it Australia’s longest FREE Journey.

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    Interesting, but it doesn't meet the fourth condition "regardless of... age" –  Sep 11 '20 at 19:31
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83 km in Luxembourg Luxembourg has made all transport free since 2020, for everyone. However, breaking the fourth rule of the question

around 419 km, but only if you are one of the 1000 people living on Cocokyun

According to some news articles, Myanmar launched a free ferry service in 2020 between Yangon and the very Cocokyun island, but it is only open to inhabitants of the island, and no non-islanders (including other Burmese) can take the ferry or (I think) go to the island.

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