- Make the adult fare $2 but only give 90 minutes of riding time (and not boarding time; the equivalent of about 1 hour in the current system)
- Charge $2.50-$3.00 for a fare valid for 3 or 4 hours
- End the zone system
- Make Ticket Vending Machine- and operator-sold fares follow the same policies
- Make youth and honored-citizen fares the same and 1/2 the price of adult fares
- Put ticket printers in buses to replace transfers
- Maybe eliminate 14-day and half-month passes, instead also offering a discount 7-day pass for youths/honored citizens
- Possibly offer a discount day pass for youths/honored citizens
Trimess
Monday, May 16, 2011
Going the other way on fares
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6 comments:
"Make the adult fare $2 but only give 90 minutes of riding time"
So, hypothetically, someone boarding the 12 Barbur/Sandy bus at Gresham TC at 6:16 AM can't complete their journey to Sherwood as it arrives at 9:00 AM, well beyond the 90 minute limit? Does the Operator have to keep track of who boarded where, and then demand that they pay an additional fare as the 90 minute limit is reached?
And what about traffic jams? I've been on the bus for 90 minutes easily in heavy traffic just between Portland-Tigard - would I be forced to pay an extra fare because TriMet refuses to re-route to avoid congestion?
"End the zone system"
This isn't a bad idea but it's also not fair to let someone pay $2.00 for a quick hop or $2.00 for a long ride. Eliminating the zone system with a time-based system would be OK, or a true distance-based system. However even those have pitfalls on the bus system.
I like what Seattle does - flat fare on off-peak hours. Rush hour fare during peak-hour which has two zones (in and out of Seattle). Central Link light rail has distance-based fares that are totally separate from bus service. Downtown free bus service only from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM daily, after 7:00 PM fares are charged. Streetcar requires a fare for all rides; however Streetcar fares are interchangeable with bus.
Yes, someone riding the 12 the whole way would have to pay the higher fare. Limiting the validation time is designed make long trips costlier. And no, the operator would not be expected to minutely enforce the fare.
As for traffic congestion, its expected that people would be forgiven when circumstances happen that are beyond their control. Also, I'm not sure how buses could be feasibly rerouted, especially without missing stops.
Seattle's system is bad in that it's complex, and complexity can be a put-off for potential riders. Someone has to worry about a) what time their trip is going to be and b) if it crosses a zone boundary, and have the right ticket or amount of money for the correct fare. A person that takes random trips needs to have 3 different fare types.
In addition, not everybody can control what time their trip is and what mode it uses.
I agree with Jason in that the Seattle system is very complicated.
It seemed like there were some buses where you tapped when you got on, and then just exited - while there were other buses where you tapped to get on, and then tapped again when you got off.
Then there were buses where you didn't tap to get on, but only tapped to get off?
How is a tourist supposed to make sense of all of that?
Max: "It seemed like there were some buses where you tapped when you got on, and then just exited - while there were other buses where you tapped to get on, and then tapped again when you got off."
You tap to get on on trip towards DT, or that don't enter DT. Tap off on trips out of DT when the RFA is in effect. Some buses change routes, like an 18 changes to a 56, so if you ride through you pay to get on the 18, and pay to get off the 56 essentially. I agree its confusing.
"Charge $2.50-$3.00 for a fare valid for 3 or 4 hours"
TriMet USED to have a 6 hour pass for $3.00 I believe it was. More than a single trip, less than a day pass, and you can get a lot done in 6 hours.
Yes, for a period of time there was a "QuickTik" (I believe it was called). However, I'm not sure how much it was advertised, and I think it got lost amid all the other fare options. Plus, people who got a generous transfer already didn't need it.
As for Seattle, King County's Web site is vague about transfers. Are the paper transfers (now KC only) supposed to be good for 1.5 or 2 hours? I think ORCA allows 2 hours.
And if you board a pay-on-exit route before the 2-hour (or 1.5) mark but get off after it, do you have to pay another fare since it would be expired by payment time? Also, how well does pay-on-exit work? TriMet tried it in the 80's and gave up.
QuickTik, That sounds about right, i do recall big yellow signs on the sides of TVMs advertising it.
We are to cut xfers for 1:30-1:59min past our arrival at our terminus stop. ORCA allows you 1:59, but yes, 2 hrs. If you know your card will kill over before the end of your trip on a pay-as-you-leave trip, you can pay earlier if you just explain the situation. Also, like TriMet, our xfers allow you to board until time shown, it is allowed to expire en route.
Pay as you leave is a pain in the ass.....period. It speeds up Downtown boardings and gets you out of town, then at big stops its a long line to pay as you leave.
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