A free rider is a person who consumes a specific resource and does not pay for it, or pays less than the full cost. When this happens often enough, it can lead to the free rider problem in which under-production results. Universities and colleges are places that have made implications to protect themselves from the negative effects of free riders. Examples of these preventative efforts are payments such as student activity fees, technology fees, and application fees. Overall, it is clear that colleges are trying to avoid the damaging consequences that free riders cause.
The free rider problem is definitely a pressing issue in many different areas. The term originated from people riding public transportation without paying the fare. This became an issue because if too many people started to not pay the full amount, the system would not have enough money to operate and the entire transportation system would have to shut down. This example shows that free riders end up affecting those who do pay the required amount, because if their means of transportation were to be shut down, they would have to look elsewhere for a way to get to work. The free rider issue is not just a setback in universities and transportation; there are several other outlets in which free riders take reign. One of the most damaging are people who live in a certain country and do not pay their taxes. Taxes benefit the area that a person lives in as a whole, so those who do not pay them are cutting down on the money given to build roads, water treatment, transportation, and many other public goods and services that help improve the place in which a person lives. .
Specifically, colleges and universities use several tactics to collect money from their students, so they can dodge the effects of free riders and raise extra money. The biggest way for colleges to gain money and avoid being taken advantage of is firstly by tuition, but they find other ways to add to this already large amount.
