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This report discusses the effects of the Great Recession on US transit agency budgets, and the actions taken to cope with declining revenues, including increases in fares, which disproportionately impact low-income, transit-dependent populations. For a variety of reasons, US transit agencies have responded by establishing programs to mitigate the impact of fare increases on vulnerable populations. A scan of US transit agency websites identified five prevalent types of mitigation programs established by transit agencies. A case study of Capital Metro transit agency offers some insight on these issues. Finally, recommendations for additional research and action in this arena are discussed. / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

The open system (contactless technology) has been introduced for a few years, but in Hong Kong, its usage is limited to retail payment/ transactions, for instance, one can use his/her VISA Paywave, MasterCard Paypass in retail stores (Wellcome, Mannings, 7-11, Maxim Fastfood, KFC, etc.), yet the wide spread of the open payment system have not been propagated to public transportation payment use, a simple reason is perhaps that Hong Kong’s public transportation payment services is dominated by a contactless payment system (closed payment platform) using the Octopus card, which has been playing a leading role among international micro payment industry, hence may seemed no emerging need for another payment platform. The other reason is that unlike the usage in retail transactions (solely for payment), the development and implementation of an open payment in public transportation is considered to be in a brown field which is more complicated and require various resources, planning, co-ordination and negotiation among relevant parties. It may seem that there is no urgency for developing an open payment platform in the transportation sector at the moment, yet with recent technological advancement (contactless feature of bank cards for support of open contactless payment system), also changes of consumer preference on payment method (prepaid versus post-paid method), and being one of the first tier cities, Hong Kong should plan ahead for further improvement and development in their system (to international standard) to maintain its market leading position and to prevent the threat of falling behind among other major cities. / published_or_final_version / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

Theses (Ph. D.)--Université de Strasbourg, 1975. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-258) and index.

It is widely accepted that taxi fare regulation in Hong Kong has been adopted for a long time without posing serious problems. The government and most of the taxi operators and passengers are used to such a regulatory measure. Nevertheless, a series of economic downturn and fierce competition among various public transport modes and within the taxi trade have emerged in the recent decades. These have gradually changed this mindset. Some people start to question whether fare regulation is the best option. Even Transport Advisory Committee supports that Hong Kong should, in the long run, adopt a more flexible fare system which should allow taxi operators to set their own fare. Against this background, this dissertation is conducted with a view to answering a question: “to what extent should the taxi fare system in Hong Kong be regulated or de-regulated”. With a view to providing recommendations on the future taxi fare policy, this dissertation examines thoroughly the theoretical principles and foreign experiences in taxi fare regulation and de-regulation. Local market structure and public perception (including the government, taxi operators and passengers) of fare regulation / de-regulation are also explored to see if the theories and overseas experiences are applicable to Hong Kong. This is a pioneering study on the feasibility of fare de-regulation in Hong Kong. The study results should be significant and should point a direction to the future of how to tackle the above question. Overall, the dissertation shows that the concept of fare regulation is deep-rooted in the mind of the general public. The government and taxi operators are very resistant to fare semi-regulation (i.e. maximum and/or minimum fare) and de-regulation on the grounds of potential cut-throat competition and adverse social impacts, e.g. overcharging and consumer’s confusion. While taxi passengers are generally worried about the loss of legal protection and fairness of charging secured by the regulation. However, theoretical principles and foreign experiences do prove some fruitful results that can be achieved by fare semi-regulation / de-regulation. For instance, the availability of more price options and service improvements are beneficial to customer welfare while the possible rise of fare level is favourable to the business of operators. To strike a balance between different interests, this dissertation recommends that Hong Kong should adopt a taxi fare regulation in the form of a combination of maximum and minimum fare. That is, a price ceiling and floor are prescribed by the government and taxi operators are allowed to set their fare level within this range. The only requirement for the operators is to file the fare to the government for record purpose as and when the fares are changed. These fares should be widely publicized before implementation. To save the effort by customers to ascertain and compare the prices, it is suggested that all taxi operators are required to be affiliated to radio-dispatched centers (DCs). DCs will take up the role of fare setting and all subordinated taxis must follow suit. The government should closely monitor the level of maximum and minimum fares and make necessary adjustments in response to market conditions. / published_or_final_version / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

Theses (Ph. D.)--Université de Strasbourg, 1975. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-258) and index.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

Thesis advisor: Richard Sweeney / Public transportation is found across almost all major cities and differ widely in structure. Notably, transportation agencies adopt different fare structures to suit the idiosyncratic needs of cities. In the United States, the two most common fare structures are: distance based fares, and flat fares. This study evaluates the fairness of these two structures through the lens of consumer surplus and how it varies across different levels of poverty under each structure. Using ridership and demographic data from Washington D.C.'s "Metro" network, price elasticities of demand across demographic groups are determined and then applied to estimate the results of a hypothetical switch in fare structure. The resulting changes in consumer surplus are then compared between stations with different levels of poverty to determine whether one structure is more regressive than the other. The results of this analysis suggest that flexible fares such as distance based fares are more equitable as they charge higher prices for high-income individuals, who are also more price inelastic. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Economics.

This research asks how universality of ridership is maintained in New York City’s transit system given that it is gated by the fare. Transportation planning scholarship presumes transit is affordable because the fare has a relatively low price and ridership among the poor is high. The transit agency addresses universality by maintaining a fare structure that keeps the single ride fare relatively low. Its method is based on empirical evidence that low-income riders “prefer” cheaper fare products over those with lower average fares but that require higher initial cash outlays. Transportation scholarship observes that low-income riders are inelastic and presumes, based on economic theory, that riders will forego more elastic goods to ride transit. Critical planning scholars have contested the tenets of the modernist planning project which utilize predict-and-provide empiricism and neoclassical economic models such as these. While urban planning has turned toward direct collaboration or at least participation with affected communities, transportation planning has not fully made this turn. There is thus little transit-related research that is informed directly by riders, especially low-income riders, suggesting the conventional approaches to understanding how riders afford the fare are incomplete. To fill this void, this research engages with low-income transit riders to elaborate and challenge the explanations for universality of ridership. It finds that although the fare price is low, it is not necessarily affordable. The “preference” for single ride fares is in most cases the result of constraints. Single fare rides are often combined with fare evasion and exploitation of free transfers, while unlimited fare cards are highly sought and widely shared. Low-income riders are more likely to undertake compensating behaviors than to forego goods. On the occasions when they do forego goods, they compromise necessities such as food, telephone service, rent and laundry. Finally, agents of the welfare state distribute fares to low-income individuals to promote rehabilitation and labor force attachment. Together these findings suggest that universality of ridership is tenuous. It depends on fragmented systems of generosity, compromise and welfare of which transit advocates and planners are largely unaware. Fare evasion enforcement, pricing structures and fare payment methods can pose challenges to riders who rely on these fragmented systems. By explicitly acknowledging transit affordability, and incorporating knowledge on the role that welfare plays in enabling low-income ridership, planners can expand access to transit for low-income riders.