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From page 26... ... 26 Case Examples This chapter provides five case examples. Each one illustrates how the responding agency implemented, or was currently working to implement, fare capping. Read the entire page →
From page 27... ... Case Examples 27 Program Design RTA initially introduced fare capping in February 2021 through their Tapp Pay app, which is available via the third-party app Transit, and is now available to riders who use a Tapp Pay smart card as well. Fares are capped on a daily and monthly rolling basis, with fares currently capped at a promotional rate of $3 per day and $30 during a 31-day rolling period. Read the entire page →
From page 28... ... 28 Fare Capping: Balancing Revenue and Equity Impacts RTA estimates that 10% of its revenue is collected through human services providers. The agency is distributing Tapp Pay fare cards to these organizations so that their clients are enrolled on the Tapp Pay system, but fare cards have passes loaded and cannot have their fares capped. Read the entire page →
From page 29... ... Case Examples 29 the system planned to no longer accept cash payment aboard both fixed-route and paratransit vehicles. During a grace period, passengers who board mid-route and attempt to pay with cash will be allowed to board, but those who board at transit centers will be required to use official fare payment, since transit centers are access points where riders can load value onto their accounts and get a Tapp Pay card. Read the entire page →
From page 30... ... 30 Fare Capping: Balancing Revenue and Equity Impacts was introduced as an incentive to get more people to use credit or debit cards and stored-value cards, and to get away from using day passes. As long as a day pass was more cost-effective than paying per trip with a credit or debit card, there would be little incentive to use a card instead of a day pass. Read the entire page →
From page 31... ... Case Examples 31 considering a monthly cap, MDT analyzed their ridership and found that few riders use service more than 5 days per week. Based on the predominant ridership patterns and the pricing of the daily pass and monthly pass, MDT determined that the vast majority of riders would not spend much more than the equivalent of a monthly pass already. Read the entire page →
From page 32... ... 32 Fare Capping: Balancing Revenue and Equity Impacts • MDT has tried to work with Transit app to incorporate MDT's fare payment into the trip planning app. However, the community leans heavily toward Apple users, and MDT has not been able to get their fare payment system into the Apple native digital wallet. Read the entire page →
From page 33... ... Case Examples 33 TriMet primarily handles the backend administration of the fare system for all three services, including the collection of all electronic revenue from the system. Every month, TriMet issues a funds transfer to C-TRAN for their share of revenue. Read the entire page →
From page 34... ... 34 Fare Capping: Balancing Revenue and Equity Impacts • There are operational costs to administer the system. These include credit card and processing fees and restocking Hop cards at vendors. Read the entire page →
From page 35... ... Case Examples 35 using a hole punch. The sale and validation of passes slows down service, and the passes raise security issues, given the high value of fare retail aboard the bus. Read the entire page →
From page 36... ... 36 Fare Capping: Balancing Revenue and Equity Impacts learn more about the options for account-based fare systems and to develop a Request for Proposals. The idea of fare capping emerged during that process as an opportunity to offer riders a "best fare" rather than selling day passes on board. Read the entire page →
From page 37... ... Case Examples 37 The agency is currently developing a marketing campaign for the new system, but they are cautious about the timing of the rollout due to implementation delays and do not want to promote it too soon. Staff plan to do significant direct outreach in advance of the official launch, including pop-ups at rail stations and major hubs to sell fare media and distribute information to riders. Read the entire page →
From page 38... ... 38 Fare Capping: Balancing Revenue and Equity Impacts An additional benefit of the larger system upgrades is more data-driven decision making. With a modernized system and new fare media, the agency has more data about trips and travel patterns that can inform service and planning decisions, augmenting information from traditional sources like onboard surveys and ride-alongs. Read the entire page →
From page 39... ... Case Examples 39 responsibility as stewards of public dollars, they also have a responsibility to provide a service to their riders and the community. In IndyGo's last comprehensive operations analysis, one recommendation was to deemphasize measuring service based on fare recovery ratio and highlight other ways to measure service success. Read the entire page →
From page 40... ... 40 Fare Capping: Balancing Revenue and Equity Impacts Lessons Learned Staff emphasized the importance of thinking holistically, and of considering factors like network design and fare structure in tandem rather than in isolation. IndyGo wanted to pursue a host of modernization projects, and many of these were in progress at the same time. Read the entire page →

From page 26...

... 26 Case Examples This chapter provides five case examples. Each one illustrates how the responding agency implemented, or was currently working to implement, fare capping.