Vinny Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 I got an email today asking me to take an online CTA survey. After asking about my use, the survey gave several different fare structures. For each structure, I was asked which fare media I would choose to use. Wonder if this is a taste of things to come. Here are the different fare structures: Other than question 1, which is pretty close to the current structure, each structure featured either premium rush hour pricing or charges for transfers. The last one (#6) was very biased against Chicago Card Plus holders. Discuss... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 The thing I can't figure out is if they are going to a bank card open fare system by 2014, how the bonuses for "Transit Card/Chicago Card" make any sense, in that there won't be any such cards, but just that the rider waves a rfid enabled credit/debit/prepaid card at the reader. As far as a rush hour extra fare, one has to figure whether one will apply economics, and hence cut demand and the deficit by raising fares when the buses are overcrowded already, or, as our past two governors have done, pander by freezing fares without making it up to the CTA. In fact, this may be a forerunner for what I predicted on the CTA Tattler for a while--F. Gump Claypool doesn't get his labor concessions (which would have to go through an arbitrator if the union doesn't agree), and hence someone is laying the foundation for a fare hike in July 2012, especially now that Metra has shown that it can get away with one. That might be the reason for the big hike proposed for the Chicago Plus Card, in that the Tattler noted that the Metra monthly for Zone B is no longer competitive with the CTA monthly, although a commenter there indicated that a combination of 10 ride tickets was a better deal than the Metra monthly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Most of the riding public would pick the cheapest alternative to their commute. If a rush only fare premium charge would take effect, most would lean towards passes. A $6 or $8 round trip transit card/cash fare adds up fast. That would be about $120 if the rider just rode the weekday rush period all month based on a $3 fare/transfer. $4-$4.50 would be $160-$180. With Metra raising it's fares, probably they are looking to raise the passes. Probably the smart thing to do for a transit agency is to get most riders on pre paid passes. This way there not going to lose revenue in case of a broken farebox or if an operator decides to give free rides. As far as the customer, they should be rewarded for being a frequent customer with a slightly cheaper pass and the person who doesn't ride so often pays more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 ... Probably the smart thing to do for a transit agency is to get most riders on pre paid passes. This way there not going to lose revenue in case of a broken farebox or if an operator decides to give free rides. ... I don't know if you are including Transit Cards, but at least after doing away with issuing bus transfers, bus cash paying passengers are down to about 6%, according to the Tribune article. Theoretically, nobody pays a cash fare at a rapid transit station, although CTA has to process the cash out of the fare machine. The open fare system would do away with the latter, which would be solely Cubic's responsibility, and also probably would reduce the number of cash bus fares, because one could use virtually any bank card or the prepaid CTA branded "gift" cards to get on the bus. Maybe a better question is that, since each service board has the right to establish its own fares, who comes up with the esoteric parts of the structure. For instance, the last Pace Moving Forward said that the Link Up sticker rate was increased as part of the Metra fare hikes, but Pace still sells the Bus Plus sticker, good only on Pace, but which hasn't gone up. Then there was the haggling over the CTA/Pace 7 day pass. So, I suppose this is part of the same old. Maybe the point of the survey is to see how many single fare vs. prepaid fare riders will squawk, but they already know what the proportion of cash vs. pass payers is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 I don't know if you are including Transit Cards, but at least after doing away with issuing bus transfers, bus cash paying passengers are down to about 6%, according to the Tribune article. Theoretically, nobody pays a cash fare at a rapid transit station, although CTA has to process the cash out of the fare machine. The open fare system would do away with the latter, which would be solely Cubic's responsibility, and also probably would reduce the number of cash bus fares, because one could use virtually any bank card or the prepaid CTA branded "gift" cards to get on the bus. Maybe a better question is that, since each service board has the right to establish its own fares, who comes up with the esoteric parts of the structure. For instance, the last Pace Moving Forward said that the Link Up sticker rate was increased as part of the Metra fare hikes, but Pace still sells the Bus Plus sticker, good only on Pace, but which hasn't gone up. Then there was the haggling over the CTA/Pace 7 day pass. So, I suppose this is part of the same old. Maybe the point of the survey is to see how many single fare vs. prepaid fare riders will squawk, but they already know what the proportion of cash vs. pass payers is. The ratio of pass riders versus transit card/chicago card/cash users can change based on a set fare structure. What strikes me as odd is that they are including Chicago cards as part of the survey. IIRC, Chicago cards were supposed to be phased out of the new fare system. Most forms of payment are going to be virtual, physically there shouldn't be many cards. A customers cell phone is there virtual transit card. Perhaps they may set up an online account that a customer can control like online banking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 The ratio of pass riders versus transit card/chicago card/cash users can change based on a set fare structure. What strikes me as odd is that they are including Chicago cards as part of the survey. IIRC, Chicago cards were supposed to be phased out of the new fare system. Most forms of payment are going to be virtual, physically there shouldn't be many cards. A customers cell phone is there virtual transit card. Perhaps they may set up an online account that a customer can control like online banking. Which is why I questioned this in the first place. I guess that besides actually,* technically Chicago Cards would be gone, because there would be no need to prepay the CTA, except for a monthly pass. However, the Open Fare System Page also indicates that there will be reloadable transit only cards, for special programs like Seniors, and presumably (since people on the CTA Tattler asked) Transit Benefits, that function in a similar manner to the Chicago Card Plus. __________ *Given the Q&A on the Open Fare System Page "When will Chicago Cards, Chicago Card Plus cards and magnetic strip transit cards disappear?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Just a few random thoughts: Is CTA or someone at RTA planning on using the ChicagoCards as a basis for the forthcoming smartcards that are supposed to be universal for all three transit systems? That appears to be the only way ChicagoCards can be an option in these scenarios, otherwise ChicagoCards could be construed as universal smartcards to be (since the mandated universal card does not have a name as yet). Remember Pace and Metra have no such cards. I think CTA is also seeking input as to which type of fare increase will be most palatable, for they know the unions will not make any concessions to them. However, I don't know how readily available this survey will be and how many respondents they will get, so those results may be somewhat skewed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinny Posted February 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 I think CTA is also seeking input as to which type of fare increase will be most palatable, for they know the unions will not make any concessions to them. However, I don't know how readily available this survey will be and how many respondents they will get, so those results may be somewhat skewed. Speaking for myself, I get RTA Farechecks through work, so I will probably stay with a monthly pass regardless of the option. I don't know who they are pushing the survey to, but I've emailed the CTA in the past to complain and compliment, as well as try to sign up for the "secret rider" program (or whatever it's called) so that may be how they got my addy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 .... I don't know who they are pushing the survey to, but I've emailed the CTA in the past to complain and compliment, as well as try to sign up for the "secret rider" program (or whatever it's called) so that may be how they got my addy. I wondered how you got it, so thanks for trying to explain. Just a few random thoughts: Is CTA or someone at RTA planning on using the ChicagoCards as a basis for the forthcoming smartcards that are supposed to be universal for all three transit systems? The idea is basically that CTA gets out of the transit "currency" business. The page indicates that there would be CTA branded cards and cards good only for transit, but it would be up to Cubic to issue cards, and if you had a card with the correct chip, any bank's card would work. However, as I noted above, CTA says that there won't be Chicago Cards, Chicago Cards Plus, or magnetic strip media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I saw that late last week, some television stations had a crawl to the effect of "CTA surveying hypothetical fare increase." So, Vinny was at least two weeks ahead of that story, and I predict that the "hypothetical" will soon be deleted from that headline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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