Fare integration
Fare integration refers to the practice in public transport ticketing where the same fare is charged on a journey between the same places, regardless of the operators or the interchanges used.
It is to be distinguised from payment integration, which refers to the same method of pyament (for example, a transit card) being able to be used on multiple operators or modes of transport. Payment integration is a prerequisite of fare integration, but not the other way round. For example, in the Netherlands, all fares can be paid by OV-chipkaart but a separate fare is still charged transferring between different operators, while an integrated fare is charged for journeys on the same operator regardless of interchanges.
History
[edit]In the past, public transport tickets were often sold separately from different operators, therefore if a journey involves multiple operators, multiple tickets have to be bought for them, usually with a cost more than that of a similar journey on a single operator. This monetary cost and complexity creates a disincentive for using public transport. For example, in the 1970s, taking public transport in the Paris region could require up to 5 separate tickets. The carte orange, introduced in 1975, integrated all the transport under a single zonal network which could be used across all modes of transport within the zones covered. On the other hand, the Travelcard in London achieves the same integration for daily or season fares, but integration is still lacking on single fares.[1]
Benefits
[edit]Researches have shown that fare integration can result in increase of passenger journeys on public transport and achieving modal shift. For example, Haifa replaced its former per-boarding fare system with a five-zonal, integrated system in 2012, and it resulted in a 7.7% increase in passenger trips and 18.6% in passenger boardings.[2]
In Switzerland, national-level fare integration is a key success factor of its public transport network.[3]
Implementations
[edit]In most European cities, municipal public transport have integrated ticketing, either on a flat fare or a zonal basis. For example, HSL operates a zonal system which covers the Helsinki metropolitan area, where all buses, trams, and commuter trains form a single network, and a ticket entitles unlimited transfers within the time and zone validity.
The level of integration varies among different regions. For example, in the North America, commuter rail is usually not part of the integrated network.[1], while they are usually an integral part of the urban transport in Europe.
With automated fare collection, other methods of fare calculation, for example, distance-based, can be used as an alternative to flat fare or zonal-based fares.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "North American Cities Join the Fare Zone Club: Finally Integrating Intermodal Fares". London Reconnections. 4 July 2024.
- ^ Sharaby, Nir; Shiftan, Yoram (2012). "The impact of fare integration on travel behavior and transit ridership". Transport Policy. 21: 63–70.
- ^ "Notes from Switzerland: Transit fare integration is key to success". Seamless Bay Area. 10 June 2023.