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Transit Fares, How much should they charge?

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Posted by wallyworld on Monday, September 15, 2008 12:48 PM

I can remember the CTA in Chicago running frequent A and B trains back in the day before they were lopped off due to budget constraints. The lines at stops are awe inspiring now...Now I hear they are removing the seats  (believe it or not) to provide more standee room as they cannot afford new equipment...they seem to have a mishap of the month these days...falsified track record inspections....in the subway no less...an era of tight budgets...Da Mayor wants to host the Olympics...as we have a wonderful transportaion system here....pass that bottle over here....The days of North shore trains from as far away as Milwaukee whizzing past on the express tracks....luxury Electroliner trains on the L....diminished expectations these days? Why do I feel next, the tracks will become bicycle paths to eek out an illusionary service in order to appease budgetary constraints?

 

Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.

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Posted by art11758 on Monday, September 15, 2008 11:28 AM
 timz wrote:

I think LIRR has the lowest per-mile fare in the country-- as long as you're riding from Bellport to Montauk. $2.25 adult one-way for ... 58 miles as I recall.

Umm yeah. I ride/commute that branch and the service is on par with the price. Late again today. And put us off within zone, but not in Pennsylvania Station, but at Hunterspoint avenue in Queens because of "equipment trouble".  When it rains, the signal system gives them fits. The service for anyone other than commuters is non existant. And  if that isn't bad enough, since it is single track from Sayville east, any blockage caused by disabled trains stops any movement.  That all said, when it's good, it's a bargain.  I couldn't do the 65 mile each way commute for what a monthly ticket costs.

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Posted by Paul Milenkovic on Sunday, September 14, 2008 9:16 PM

Madison Metro recovers something on the order of 30 cents on the dollar in fares.

There is one customer, however, who needs to be charged the full cost of riding the bus.  My employer.

There is this thing called Transportation Demand Management where driving to work is evil whereas almost any other mode is virtuous.  Some of the demands on what is called in the biz TDM are that constructing enough parking spaces for everyone to drive is impossible, let along cost effective.  Other demands come from the view of saving the environment, although the energy-intensity of transit is not as low as you would think. 

So the University of Wisconsin lets me ride the bus for free, because it is cheaper to bribe me with a free bus ride than to build more parking garages (we call them ramps).  Well, if the U is going to make an economic decision on the tradeoff between employee parking and employee bus passes, the cost to the U of the contract with Madison Metro should be for the "full freight", not this 30 cents on the dollar arrangement.

You might say, a large share of the subsidy to Madison Metro comes from the State of Wisconsin, and tuition at the U is subsidized by the State, so the money all comes from taxpayers in one form or another anyway, what difference does it make that the U gets employee bus access out of the DOT budget instead of out of its own budget?

I tell you what difference it makes, the difference is sitting in Faculty Senate and getting the annual scolding about the expense of providing parking and how the bus is so much cheaper all around.  If the U payed the fully-allocated costs associated with its bus contract, there would be a more level playing field in the cost comparison and the scolding would be less annoying.

If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?

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Posted by henry6 on Friday, September 12, 2008 2:24 PM
Probably trying to compare one operation's fares to another's is not practical.  Operating costs; terrain; geography; closeness of stations; shared trackage; real estate costs; operating employees, non operating employees, and supervisory empoyees, et. al., costs; equipment styles; fuel(s); union rules; and marketing vs. competition are all factors.  And that's probably just for starters. 

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Posted by DMUinCT on Friday, September 12, 2008 11:02 AM

    How do Commuter Railroads cover there costs?  Taxes or Fare Box?  Do they own the ROW or rent it from a Freight Railroad?  Fare cost per mile can not apply.

   Most Commuter Railroads operate on a budget based on Fare Box Revenue AND Tax Payer Support.   Less Tax Payer Support = higher Fares!   More cash from the State or Cities = lower Fares.

   In Boston, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) assess each town served a part of the operating cost to cover the deficit from Fares.   As costs and labor rises, Fares go up.

Don U. TCA 73-5735

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Posted by timz on Thursday, September 11, 2008 4:55 PM

I think LIRR has the lowest per-mile fare in the country-- as long as you're riding from Bellport to Montauk. $2.25 adult one-way for ... 58 miles as I recall.

Boston fares are cheaper than New York area fares, LA's Metrolink is comparable to Boston, Caltrain in San Francisco is cheaper and Chicago looks to be the cheapest.

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Posted by oltmannd on Thursday, September 11, 2008 2:34 PM

MN, LIRR and NJT have no shortage of riders at the current fares!

(and if you think THEY charge a lot, price Amtrak from Philly or Trenton to NYP!)

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Thursday, September 11, 2008 2:08 PM
I've noticed over the years that fares for Northeastern suburban operations tend to be higher than those in the Midwest and West.  A general rule of thumb is a farebox recovery ratio of at least 50%, fares cover at least half of expenses.
The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Transit Fares, How much should they charge?
Posted by rearenddetector on Thursday, September 11, 2008 12:38 PM

 One Way Peak

$23.00$17.75$16.86

Above is the fare from Metro-North Grand Central to Poughkipsee- 74.91 miles

South Shore IN to Downtown Chicago- 10.75 - 89.50 Miles 

 Above is the fare on the South Shore

Fare Results: The One-Way Adult fare from SKT Stockton to SJD San Jose is $11.00

 The distance between Stockton (San Joaquin County), CA and San Jose, CA is 54.0 miles(87.0 km)

Above is the fare on the ACE train from Stockton to San Jose

$7.75/ride
$250/month

Above is the MBTA Boston to Fitchburgh Fare-- (About 60 Miles?)

Zone 5 fare is 7.00 on Septa between Trenton and Philly and Wilimgton De (54.miles)? 

The distance between Trenton, NJ and Wilmington, DE is 54.0 miles(86.0 km)

 

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