Maryland Mass Transit Administration Fare Simplification: Effects on Ridership and Revenue

In the transit industry there is a general assumption that fare increases produce more revenues but decrease ridership. A recent fare policy change implemented by the Maryland Mass Transit Administration (MTA) challenges this tenet. The focus of this paper is how the MTA, by involving riders and operating staff in identifying strengths and weaknesses of the fare structure, was able to develop a fare system vision that stressed simplification and convenience and to design bold changes to the current fare structure that resulted in increased ridership and revenue.