Free Public Transit?

[The Journalist]

The majority of transit systems would be better off using fare income to run more service than making it free. There comes a point where it stops making sense to charge a fare, since doing so does have some potential downsides-the cost of doing so to begin with, buses stop longer, the fare being a barrier to use. But that point is likely farebox recovery in the single digits. Otherwise it's probably worthwhile to charge fares.

There are some corner cases where specific lines or service areas make sense to be free, say if the route is a feeder to a light rail line and almost everyone riding that route is transferring, or for a tourist-oriented circulator where the target market is significantly more likely to ride if they don't have to figure out how to pay for it.

A potential middle ground is not enforce fares at all and only intervene if the passenger is disruptive. This is an important point because there is substantial overlap between "didn't pay the fare" and "causes problems."

 

[Literalman]

"Literalman, upthread, describes a local transit system (in Alexandria, a close-in suburb of DC) that was free but not very useful, for him anyway" Sorry if I wasn't clear. The service was expanded at the same time it was made free, and the greatly increased frequency made it much more useful.

Yes, you have to make an appointment to get a Septa senior card at 1234 Market St. You might have to schedule it a month or more beforehand, so plan ahead. There is a nice transit museum there, which you can look at any time the office is open. It is alongside the eastbound 13th St. platform on the Market St. subway. When you walk along the platform you can see the PCC through the windows.

I've experienced inconsistent acceptance of my Septa senior card on other Pa. systems. It was readily accepted on the Harrisburg buses but not always on Red Rose Transit in Lancaster. I verified with Red Rose Transit that the Septa senior card is accepted, but some drivers don't cooperate. Boarding one bus, I said that we had Septa senior cards, and the driver said, "This isn't Septa." I explained that Red Rose headquarters had told me that the Septa senior card was good, and the Red Rose website says that other Pa. systems' senior cards are accepted.

 

[railiner]

I've experienced inconsistent acceptance of my Septa senior card on other Pa. systems. It was readily accepted on the Harrisburg buses but not always on Red Rose Transit in Lancaster. I verified with Red Rose Transit that the Septa senior card is accepted, but some drivers don't cooperate. Boarding one bus, I said that we had Septa senior cards, and the driver said, "This isn't Septa." I explained that Red Rose headquarters had told me that the Septa senior card was good, and the Red Rose website says that other Pa. systems' senior cards are accepted

It shouldn’t have to be that way. Since the state probably partially funds most of the public transit, perhaps they should issue a single statewide senior travel card?

 

[Literalman]

Yes, the senior transit trips are free because they are paid for by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A statewide senior transit card makes sense to me.

In response to another comment, the fare to ride to Trenton on Septa is $5. I have been charged that fare only once in the past year on a few trips to or from Trenton—even when I asked the conductor to sell me a ticket. But I bring money to pay the fare in case I need to.

 

[PaTrainFan]

It shouldn’t have to be that way. Since the state probably partially funds most of the public transit, perhaps they should issue a single statewide senior travel card?

Ideally, but compantibility with differing optical readers could be an issue.