Doesn't Melbourne also have zones? So you have separate two hour and
daily tickets for zone 1, 2, 3, etc - like Perth. Thus this system is
best described as a hybrid zone/time approach.
>Many cities use the timed ticket approach. It is, as you say, by far the best
>solution, because anyone setting out on public transport wants to reach a
>destination rathert than ride on the vehicles of the X, Y or Z transit company.
>
I think you are talking about cities with a purely time-based ticket
system here, ie you pay a single fare, which is the same whether you go
1km or 40km (unlike Melbourne). However, transfers are free provided they
are made in the 2hr period. However, I sometimes wonder that if making a
cross-town trip, and service frequencies are poor (eg 60 or 90 min), the
2hrs may not be enough. The actual time allowed should be set according
to the travel time on the longest route and the maximum headway of the
most infrequent route.
Here in Canberra, we are going through a fare debate at the moment. At
the moment, we have a flat fare system - $2.00 for 1km or 20km. Provided
its on the one bus, its a single fare However, if you need to transfer,
you have to pay $2.00 again and again. Because of the current bus route
structure, many trips require two or three buses (suprising in a city
Canberra's size), so travel can be quite expensive.
Not suprisingly, this system is unpopular, and a change will almost
certainly be made later this year. There has been quite a bit of
discussion about what our new fare system should be.
I think it is sensible to aim for revenue neutrality - any new system
should collect as much revenue as the current system with the same number
of passengers. This is so growth in revenue from higher patronage can
immediately be put back into increasing frequency as soon as possible.
This of course adds to the attractiveness of public transport, and
encourages greater use.
So, assuming revenue neutrality, we'd need a ticket price of about $2.70
if we had a flat-fare 2hr time ticket system valid for any distance. For
a single, one-off, short-distance trip this is very expensive. Certainly
all of those who currently pay $2.00 to catch a single bus to work would
be disadvantaged.
This high fare is also a liability if we wanted to catch the inner-city
lunch time market, especially if they make only one trip by public
transport.
Of course, a time-based system where the ticket was $2.00 would be close
to ideal. However, this has revenue implications. I'd rather see the
money going into improving frerquency rather than reducing ticket prices.
This is because better frequency makes public transport more attractive
for more trips, and more people will be buying weekly and monthly tickets
as their level of usage justifies these. This effectively reduces per
trip costs once people have travelled more than a certain amount.
The most favoured option at the moment seems to be a time-based zonal
system, as operates in Perth. Either three or five fare levels is being
proposed. Here they could be (say) $1.50, 2.00, 2.50, 3.00, 3.50. This
would make short-distance travel much more economical, but transfers
would still be free. Yes, longer distance travellers do pay more under
this system, but significantly less than under the present system.
Though the time-based system appeals to me, the high minimum fare in my
view would put many people off. When taking a (very) short trip on a
Melbourne tram, I was suprised at the high fare demanded. I note that
the Public Transport Users Association also objects to the high fares in
Melbourne (see there home page - there's a link from mine).
On balance, I lean towards a zone-based system with a 2hr time component.
Though it's not without its problems, I think it's the fairest system of
all those canvassed above. The bus operator also seems to favour this
approach.
Peter
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Peter Parker parkerp@pcug.org.au
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URL: http://www.pcug.org.au/~parkerp/
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