Then it's covered by the government and cost is more or less ignored. It still costs something but now there is no or little visibility as to how much it costs which is obviously bad for incentives and general governance
Bad for who? The incentive is for more people to use the system, since we are aiming for a Greater Good kind of outcome. Cost and efficiency becomes a government problem, which we manage through policy and voting.
The road system doesn't have a price tag per trip, yet it's costs are managed through policy and governance. No difference here in my opinion.
