Center Identification Number:  77705    

 

Project Title: Regional Fare Policy and Fare Allocation, Innovations in Fare Equipment and Data Collection  

 

Co-Principal Investigators:

 

Ann Joslin, Senior Research Associate

Phone: (813) 974-9183

E-mail:    joslin@cutr.usf.edu

 

William Morris, Senior Research Associate
Phone: (813)-974-6804
E-Mail: wpmorris@cutr.usf.edu

 

Rob Gregg, Director, Transit Management and Innovation Program
Phone: (813)-974-8383
E-Mail: gregg@cutr.usf.edu

 

Institution:                             

 

Center for Urban Transportation Research

University of South Florida

Tampa, Florida 33620

Fax: 813-974-5168

www.cutr.usf.edu

www.nctr.usf.edu

 

External Project Contact:     

Diane Quigley
Florida Department of Transportation
(850) 576-2788
Email: diane.quigley@dot.state.fl.us

I.  Project Objective/Problem Statement

To quote from the Millennium Goals of the TRB Committee on Public Transportation Marketing and Fare Policy, “One certainty in the new millennium is that customers will still have to pay for their trips, although exactly how they will do so is open to speculation.  Several researchers have held that technology should not drive the fare policy, but the efforts of technological changes on fare policy decisions are inescapable and are likely to increase the range of options geometrically.”  A 1997 TCRP Project A-14 “Multi-purpose Fare Media: Developments and Issues” identified issues and concerns on the part of transit agencies and financial institutions and assessed customer and financial implications associated with various regional fare policy arrangements.  At the time the report was written, few multi-agency regional fare arrangements existed in the U.S.  Issues and concerns contemplated in the industry related to fare policy and technology, including multi-agency/regional fare policy, were: 

Institutional: who are the participants in a regional program, how is such a program organized and operated, and what are the legal and regulatory requirements that must be addressed?

Technological:  what types of fare technology issues influence individual or regional agency programs, what are the design requirements, how will new technology be integrated into existing systems, and what are the compatibility and transitional issues?

Customer-Related:  to what extent will customers participate in the development of a regional fare program? What are the benefits, barriers and implementation issues for customers? What privacy issues may exist?

Data Processing:  what new data will be derived from the technological advances, how will this data improve planning and marketing efforts, and allow for better allocation of fare resources among regional partners?

Costs and Benefits:  What are the capital costs associated with the advancement, what savings might be achieved in other areas, and what impact will the technological or policy change have on ridership?

So what are the fare-related technological advances that have been implemented at transit agencies since the TCRP report of 1997?  What has been the impact on the riding public, marketing and planning departments, and what impacts have technology made on the collection of fare revenues and the proper allocation of funds within multi-agency regional systems?  These issues will be explored in this research effort as scoped below.

II.  Objectives/Tasks

The objective of this research will be to explore the experiences of transit systems across the U.S. who have implemented regionalized services and integrated fare systems to benefit those who may be considering such an arrangement including: (1) identification of issues and concerns that transit agencies and financial institutions have encountered; (2) customer and financial implications associated with various regional fare policy approaches; and, (3) documentation of fare related technology issues and opportunities based on national experience.  The proposed scope of services for this project consists of the following tasks:\

Task 1       Literature Review   

A comprehensive literature review will be conducted to identify articles and reports that have been written on the subject of fare policy, fare technology, regional transit service and related interlocal agreements.  In addition to the standard TRIS search and a review of the many industry periodicals maintained at CUTR, an internet search will be conducted to identify articles and other references that deal with the subject of fare policy and fare technology.

Task 2       State of the Industry

Using information gathered from the literature review as well as from fare related APTA and TRB committees, CUTR will prepare a summary of the “state of the industry” which may include but will not be limited to: the status of fare collection technology, prepayment systems and technologies,  fare reciprocity among multi-jurisdictional transit operators, universal fare media, revenue allocation models, fare payment and its relationship to banking and other financial institutions, innovations in data collection, and regional fare policy visioning exercises in Florida.     

Task 3       Case Study Analysis

Based on the results of Task 2 – State of the Industry, CUTR will target four transit agencies in the United States that have implemented practical and innovative approaches to fare collection in the context of regional fare policy for a more in depth analysis of the five topical areas identified in the problem statement.  A fifth case study will include a situation appraisal of the regional fare policy and technological improvements being considered in Southeast Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties).

Task 4       Summary of Best Practices

                  From the analysis of Task 3 and summary of findings in Tasks 1 and 2, CUTR will develop a summary of best practices and case study syntheses for the implementation of improved fare related technologies and fare policies. The case study syntheses will identify the means by which at least one, if not more of the five areas identified in the problem statement have been successfully addressed including:

1. Institutional

2. Technological

3. Customer-Related

4. Data Processing

5. Costs and Benefits

The case study syntheses will address the best strategies to be employed in South Florida based on the situation appraisal and the identified best practices.

Task 5        Draft Final Report

Following completion of Task 4 a Draft Final Report will be submitted for review.

The draft final report will be edited for grammar, clarity, organization, and readability prior to submission to the Department for technical approval. The editor providing the review will sign a cover sheet attesting to such review prior to submission. It is understood that reports failing to meet this requirement will summarily be rejected. The only changes allowable between the final draft and the final report will be those changes requested by the Project Manager and the Research Center. 

Task 6       Final Report

The final task of the research will summarize the results of the previous tasks in order to develop a report on “Regional Fare Policy and Fare Allocation, Innovations in Fare Equipment and Data Collection”.  The report will be designed in a clear, concise summary format that will facilitate easy reading and application by public transit provider professionals.  A Power-Point presentation will also be developed to share the project findings with other Florida and national transit systems. 

III. Deliverables

Deliverables for this project will include the following:

Quarterly Progress Reports – These will be provided to the FDOT Project Manager and the Research Office.  Reports will include the following sections:

1.      Contract number, work order number and title

2.      Work done during the quarter

3.      Work to be done in the following quarter

4.      Requested modifications to scope, budget or schedule as appropriate

5.      An updated project progress schedule

Progress Reports should be sent in MS Word format to Sandra Bell, Contracts Administrator at sandra.bell@dot.state.fl.us

Technical Memorandum 1 – Technical Memorandum 1 will summarize the findings of the first two tasks: the literature review and the review of the state of the industry.

Technical Memorandum 2 – Technical Memorandum 2, to be submitted at the end of Task 3, will provide the summary of the case study syntheses.

Draft Final Report

Following the completion of Task 4 a Draft Final Report will be submitted for review.

The draft final report should be submitted to Sandra Bell, Contracts Administrator at sandra.bell@dot.state.fl.us

The draft final report will be edited for grammar, clarity, organization, and readability prior to submission to the Department for technical approval. The editor providing the review will sign a cover sheet attesting to such review prior to submission. It is expected that a well-written, high quality report will be submitted. It is understood that report failing to meet this requirement will be summarily rejected. The only changes allowable between the final draft and the final report will be those changes requested by the Project Manager and Research Center.

Final Report 

Eight (8) copies of the final report in MS Word on CD and a bound original will be delivered, no later than the end date of the RPWO, to

The Florida Department of Transportation

Research Center, MS 30

605 Suwannee Street

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0450

All Final Reports shall contain:

1. A cover page that identifies the project title and contract number, the contractor’s name and contact information, the author’s name, the month and date of publication

2. Disclaimer language, which alone shall be on the first page within the report and include the following: (1)  The opinions, findings and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the State of Florida Department of Transportation, or the U.S. Department of Transportation, and (2) Prepared in cooperation with the State of Florida Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

3. A completed Technical Report Documentation form #F.1700.7, immediately following the disclaimer page. 

IV.  Project Schedule

 

V.  Project Budget