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Fares and Service

I have just discovered that this thread, set up last April as a notice about the site, actually contains several comments on fares and service.

Some of these have been around for a while, but I thought it worthwhile putting them in a post of their own.

5 thoughts on “Fares and Service”

  1. Dear Steve Munro:

    With the rash of conterfeit TTC fares as of late, I have a few ideas for how to reduce counterfieting and fare fraud on the TTC. I f you have the time, please let me know what you think.

    1. Have card swipe devices on surface vehicles. An operator doesn’t have the time to verify EVERY pass, but on occasion a pass could be verified by swiping it through a card reader (similar to devices at subway stations).

    Steve:  With the coming of Smart Cards and of all door-loading on low-floor cars, the idea of passengers all going past an operator will be obsolete.  Also, the smart cards work by using Radio Frequency technology (proximity detection) rather than a swiped stripe.  The obvious problem is that if someone doesn’t have a card, there is nothing to check.  The only way you will catch someone like that is manual inspection.

    2. Connect transfer machines to token turnstyles at subway stations.  This way, a passenger will not be able to obtain a transfer unless they pay a fare.  I have witnessed several occasions of people obtaining multiple transfers from the red transfer machines at subway stations.  I have even witnessed people printing off transfers while carrying Metropasses in their hand!

    Steve:  There have been many suggestions over the years about this sort of thing.  Again, if we are going to move away from tokens, tickets, etc etc to smart cards, then the idea of a paper transfer is obsolete.  Whenever a new master plan emerges for fare collection in the GTA, then we can engineer new turnstiles (or whatever) to deal with that technology.  If we were going to stay with paper transfers forever, then I would agree that this should have been done long ago.

    3.  Vary the design of TTC and GTA weekly passes.  I think it is ridiculous that TTC weekly passes are a REPEATING series of graduated colors, and GTA passes are a REPEATING series of solid colors.  It would only cost a few cents to print of a sticker to cover up the “Week #” portion of the pass so that an operator booth person nods their head and lets a passenger “re-use” an old pass.

    Steve:  The TTC claims that other changes are made to the design besides the colour, but obviously someone eyeballing the pass won’t necessarily catch that.

    This whole issue of fare evasion comes up from time to time as one of those “there’s gold in them thar hills” answers to the TTC’s funding problems.  I think that I will devote a separate post to this so that it appears as its own item rather than a reply to a comment that might not be seen by everyone.

    Replies appreciated.

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  2. If and when Smart Card (RFID or Swipe Cards) are in use how will they handle oddball routings that are totally legit right now.  I don’t want to mention specific routes but from my house to work I have many choices.

    NB bus, WB Streetcar, 5 min walk.
    SB Bus, WB Subway, NB Bus 2 min walk.
    NB Bus, WB Bus, NB bus, 2 min walk.
    NB bus, (at transfer point a Tim Hortons), SB Bus and 2 min walk.

    My usual choice (90% of the time the fastest) is the last one unless NB bus short turns at streetcar line as on NB Bus in the morning as 99% of the time I can get a seat on NB Bus and coffee at Timmies to take to work.  I am partially disabled and cannot handle the stairs at the Subway so I usually avoid it.

    Steve:  The likely fare arrangement with the new media will be that a fare will be good for a length of time from the point you first enter the system, regardless of how you make your journey.  This scheme is already in use on the St. Clair car and could be extended system wide provided that people are not using paper transfers that can be “refreshed” simply by visiting a subway station.

    There is a potential for complaints if someone gets turfed off a short-turning vehicle, or there is an emergency, making a trip that normally fit within one fare spill over into a second, but if they set the time for one fare to two hours or so, this should not be an issue.  It will also make a fare of any kind in effect a short-term pass eliminating the ban on stopovers and round trips provided that you stay in the time limit.

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  3. One of the things which really bugs me is the fact that the new transit shelters have frames designed for the smaller Mississauga system maps. Consequently, the TTC shrank by about 25 % their maps. It’s especially ironic for them to do this when the city has been installing larger white on blue signs to help drivers. With an aging population, why make it more difficult for TTC riders to read the print? I noticed that in the roll out of the new shelters, no one brought up this point. Obviously, the TTC should have (could still) ensure larger frames, if they cared.

    Comment?

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  4. Oh, How the TTC could learn from OC Transpo :

    Click here

    Now, OC Transpo didn’t post this information until late last night, and a lot of people complained that they didn’t know until they got to work why their bus didn’t show up, BUT AT LEAST IT WAS POSTED!

    Steve:  The only problem with application of this scheme to the TTC is that it assumes they know in advance which trips they will cancel.  All the same, it’s at least an effort to keep people informed.

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  5. Hi Steve

    Right now lines at the subway entrance ticket/information booths are a mix of people lining up to purchase tickets/passes, get transit information and enter the subway with a transfer or cash fare. The addition of automated pass and token sellers help to alleviate some of the queue but long lines continue.

    With the coming fare card, do you know if the TTC is considering taking the even larger step to make access to the subway a strictly automated affair (fare card, tokens, readable transfers/tickets)? A move to a totally autmated fare system could separate the information/ticket request lines from the subway access line and vastly improve accessibility. At the same time, such a move could have a broader impact on the location of ticket/information booths (as true information/ticket booths, they would no longer be required to act as a gateway into the subway and could be moved away from the turnstiles) and staffing at stations (at most one booth would be required per station).

    Thanks for your thoughts.

    Gilbert

    Steve: Nothing has been decided on the TTC’s implementation of a new fare system. They are working on a report, expected in a few months, setting out the business case for or against the implementation of the Smart Card system. At that point, we will see what assumptions about design of the fare structure, station operations, new equipment, etc., have gone into the TTC’s plans.

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