Regional Fare Integration Study milestone achieved
On Tuesday, February 16th, the regional Fare Integration Task Force achieved a significant milestone by approving a robust set of options for more convenient, affordable, and predictable fares to be studied. Out of an initial long list of 23 different fare integration options, six were shortlisted for in-depth study. The shortlisted fare integration options will be evaluated on their potential to drive three desired objectives: increasing ridership, improving equity, and reducing driving.
Several of the options that are part of the shortlist address important fare integration concepts, and include features along the lines of Seamless Bay Area’s Integrated Transit Fare Vision Map:
Zone- or distance-based fares with a flat local bus fare that let you pay a predictable amount for a trip regardless of which agency or agencies you ride on and is administered using one single fare structure.
Budget-friendly fare caps that let you take transfers and trips with multiple agencies and know the maximum you will have to pay in a day, week, or month.
Over a dozen people showed up to voice their support to move forward with all six options, discuss the need for a network manager, and reiterate the overall importance of this fare integration work to work towards increasing ridership. To highlight a few comments from transit riders:
“The rider experience is the most important thing and the jurisdictional boundaries [as they are currently set up] aren’t good for rider experience and aren’t equitable.”
“We need to make transit attractive, competitive and simple [so that transit] is a better option than cars. I can’t express how many people use cars just because they’re a bit baffled by how they can integrate all these services into their daily needs… we absolutely need integration.”
“Thanks to the staff who put together a great presentation and I encourage the Task Force to move forward with all six options. The output of this [should be] simple and uniform across the region.”
Thanks to everyone who showed up and spoke in favor of affordable, integrated fares! As BART General Manager Bob Powers commented, he and the other transit general managers appreciate the insightful comments provided by riders and support the comments about increasing ridership and making transit the preferable option. Dennis Mulligan, General Manager at Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation, Daryl Halls of Solano Transportation Authority and San Mateo County Transit District General Manager, Jim Hartnett, all voiced their support for moving forward with all 6 options as well. It is fantastic that the Fare Integration Task Force members had a chance to hear from everyone, and as we move forward, we will need to continue to make riders’ voices heard and provide even more encouragement to get fare improvements implemented.
What’s next?
The six selected options will be studied in greater depth and evaluated against the desired outcomes focused on ridership, equity and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reductions. In the coming months, the project team will conduct detailed analysis of financial, ridership, and user impacts, and develop implementation strategies. One important dimension of this study to pay attention to is the user testing and feedback from transit riders. We encourage riders to continue to participate in this study to provide real world feedback on customer experience and barriers to transit. The final report and recommendations will be presented to the Fare Integration Task Force by Summer 2021.
Stay tuned for the next Fare Integration Task Force meeting on April 19, 2021 at 1:05pm PT.