The objective of the paper is to examine and to asses the effects of the introduction of a third payer
system on the mobility behaviour from a multidisciplinary viewpoint. This approach allows an analysis of
various effects that free public transport and, in general, price policies can entail. The concept of the
“third payer system” implies that the cost of public transport is not paid by the user or provider, but
partially or completely by a third party. Local authorities, other public organisations and private
organisations can enter into such agreements and pay for public transport for a specific target group in a
specific area. The analysis has been performed through a case study, namely the introduction of free
urban public transport for students at Dutch-speaking universities and colleges in Brussels. In how far this
measure contributes to a more sustainable mobility system has caused much debate. Also, not everyone is
convinced that such a measure is beneficial for the society. Some people argue that there are better ways
to spend the money, for instance on the quality of public transport. In order to assess whether this
measure has societal benefits, a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) has been carried out. This analysis
calculates the benefits and costs of the measure, in order to find out if the balance is positive or negative.
