2013 Session: 822

• Effects of Fare Payment Types and Crowding on Dwell Time: Fine-Grained Analysis
  Abstract: Dwell time, the time a transit vehicle spends stopped to serve passengers, contributes to the total reliability of transit service in several respects. Dwell time can be affected by many factors, such as passenger activity, bus crowding, fare collection method, driver experience, time of day, and others. The types of impacts crowding can have on dwell time is debatable, due to its interaction with passenger activity and its inaccurate calculation. Different payment methods also, debatably, impact dwell time. These debates can be linked to the absence of appropriate data that can actually capture the real impacts of these variables. This research attempts to determine the influence of crowding and fare payment on dwell time, through manual data collection. The study is conducted along three heavily used bus routes in the TransLink transit system of Vancouver, BC. Multiple regression models are performed using a traditional model and a new expanded model with the additional details that manually collected data provides. The traditional model overestimated dwell times due to lack of detail in fare payment and crowding. While the expanded model shows that crowding positively affects dwell time after reaching approximately 60% of bus capacity. The different fare payment methods had various positive impacts on dwell time, with different magnitudes. This research can help public transit planners and operators in developing better guidelines for fare payment methods as well as policies associated with crowding.
  Authors: Fletcher, J. Grant; El-Geneidy, Ahmed M.
  Authors: Fletcher, J. Grant; El-Geneidy, Ahmed M.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Policy; Public Transportation
  Session: 822
  Paper Number: 13-1102
• Unbanked Transit Riders and Open Payment Fare Collection
  Abstract: Several transit agencies are considering accepting contactless credit and debit cards directly at turnstiles and bus fareboxes. By using the expertise and scale economies of the payments industry, agencies may reduce fare collection costs and improve regional interoperability and ease of use. One issue with bankcard-based fare collection systems is how to serve transit riders who do not have or do not want to use contactless bankcards. Based on Chicago data, we estimate discrete choice models of the likelihood of transit users to have credit and debit cards or to use alternative financial services such as currency exchanges. A significant fraction of transit riders in Chicago do not have credit or debit cards, and they come from groups with lower incomes, lower levels of education, and minority ethnicities. To meet the needs of this unbanked group of transit users, agencies may accept cash fares, agency-issued cards, or payment industry-issued prepaid cards that can be loaded with cash at retail locations or in rail stations. These options serve unbanked riders to varying degrees and with different costs to the agency.
  Authors: Brakewood, Candace; Kocur, George
  Authors: Brakewood, Candace; Kocur, George
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Policy; Public Transportation
  Session: 822
  Paper Number: 13-1248
• Senior and Disabled Reduced-Fare Cards: Peer Review of Policies
  Abstract: The federal regulations that establish senior citizen and disabled reduced fare programs do not specify how those programs are to be structured. As a result, transit agencies across the nation vary widely in their reduced fare policies. This variation offers an excellent opportunity for transit systems to learn from each other’s experience and to mix and match approaches to best meet their needs. This paper, for the first time, provides a systematic consideration of reduced fare policies at major transit agencies. This research combines the findings of a structured, open-ended survey with information gleaned from transit agency websites to present a framework for understanding the key components of a reduced fare card program. These components are then illustrated by the breadth of approaches taken by the largest transit systems in the ten most populous metropolitan areas in the United States. The purpose of this research is not to conclusively promote a preferred reduced fare policy, but to identify the common elements of such programs and present actual examples to help interested agencies craft and refine their own preferred policy.
  Authors: Newmark, Gregory L.
  Authors: Newmark, Gregory L.
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Policy; Public Transportation
  Session: 822
  Paper Number: 13-5311
• Does Transit Mean Business? Reconciling Academic, Organizational, and Political Perspectives on Variable Transit Fares
  Abstract: For decades transportation scholars have argued in favor of differentiated transit fares, which vary by mode, distance, and/or time-of-day. Such fare policies, researchers contend, could greatly increase the efficiency, efficacy, and equity of transit service. However, despite this established research on the benefits of differentiated fares, relatively few transit agencies employ them, and over the past two decades many have actually eliminated differential fares and replaced them with flat fares. Advances in smartcard fare collection technology have reduced the operational obstacles to charging differentiated fares, but with the proliferation of this technology, will transit systems begin implementing differentiated fares? We find that changes in fare policies are often crisis-induced and budget-driven, and this ad hoc process reflects the multitude of (and sometimes contradictory) goals that transit agencies pursue – including the political need to provide affordable alternatives to automobiles. This suggests that new smartcard technology may be necessary to overcome operational challenges, but not sufficient to overcome political challenges. We also find a significant gap between current practices (of charging flat fares) and beliefs among transit agency officials that more flexible pricing should be implemented. Heard many times over in interviews was deep concern about losing any riders as a result of introducing differentiated fares – despite possible gains in other rider groups or trips made on transit. This fear of losing riders to automobiles, coupled with officials’ reported desires to implement variable fares, suggests that transit agencies should support the adoption of congestion and parking pricing programs, which internalize the costs of driving. Doing so would remove a fundamental barrier to implementing variable transit fares.
  Authors: Yoh, Allison C.; Taylor, Brian D.; Gahbauer, John
  Authors: Yoh, Allison C.; Taylor, Brian D.; Gahbauer, John
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Policy; Public Transportation
  Session: 822
  Paper Number: 13-4980
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Effects of Fare Payment Types and Crowding on Dwell Time: Fine-Grained Analysis
  Authors: Fletcher, Grant
  Authors: Fletcher, Grant
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Policy; Public Transportation
  Session: 822
  Paper Number: 13-1102
• Unbanked Transit Riders and Open Payment Fare Collection
  Authors: Brakewood, Candace
  Authors: Brakewood, Candace
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Policy; Public Transportation
  Session: 822
  Paper Number: 13-1248
• Does Transit Mean Business? Reconciling Academic, Organizational, and Political Perspectives on Variable Transit Fares
  Authors: Yoh, Allison
  Authors: Yoh, Allison
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Policy; Public Transportation
  Session: 822
  Paper Number: 13-4980
• Senior and Disabled Reduced-Fare Cards: Peer Review of Policies
  Authors: Newmark, Gregory
  Authors: Newmark, Gregory
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Policy; Public Transportation
  Session: 822
  Paper Number: 13-5311