In 2020, for obvious reasons, the #Worcester RTA suspended fare collection on our #transit system. For less obvious (but interesting!) reasons, it's still free today.
It's only in the last month or so that it's started to dawn on people in my social/economic/demographic group that *the buses are all free*. I've seen more of my peers using transit here in the last 30 days than in the 10 years before.
Someone needs to study lag time between better transit and user adoption...
Now for the interesting thing the RTA discovered:
(These numbers are from memory and probably not exact, but generally the gist of it.)
The #Worcester RTA was collecting about $7M in fares pre-COVID. So it was assumed we'd need to come up with an annual $7M budget increase to keep the system free.
But.
#WorcPoli #MAPoli #Transit #Bus #UrbanTransit #PublicTransit #MBTA
Turns out,
-Maintaining fareboxes and farecard machines (owned by a notoriously unreliable and uncooperative third party, natch)
-Validating and issuing reduced fare cards for elderly, disabled, and low income riders
-Collecting, depositing, and accounting for cash fares
-Customer service and refunds for farecard failures
*COST* the RTA about $4M a year.
So really, to make the system free only cost $3M a year, not $7M.
So now when I see the #MBTA talking about their "ring of steel" plan and their "next generation #CharlieCard" plan, I have to ask... why are they bothering?
It seems at least possible that it would be cheaper to just make the #MBTA free than to invest hundreds of millions into a new generation of turnstiles, fareboxes, vending machines, and cash collection... not to mention transit cops to pursue "fare evasion".
Has anyone done this analysis? If not, why not?
#Boston #Worcester #MAPoli #Transit #Subway #Bus #UrbanTransit #Equity
Is the problem some teenagers ducking their #subway fare, or a bureaucracy insistent on shoveling huge amounts of money to a private vendor for fare collection machinery and to law enforcement to punish Those Undeserving Poors?
"Just asking questions," as one says 😁
#Boston #Worcester #MBTA #Transit #UrbanTransit #Equity #BusesAreCool
AndThisIsMrsPeacock 🏳🌈
Cy