Southeast Florida Regional Transit Fare Coordination Study

The Southeast Florida Regional Transit Fare Coordination Study represents a joint effort of the four transit agencies operating in southeast Florida (Palm Beach County Transportation Authority, Broward County Transit, Metro-Dade Transit Agency, and the Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority).The purpose of the study was not to develop a common fare for all transit services in the three county region.Each transit agency has its own local conditions that dictate appropriate base fares for their services.The primary purpose of this study was to identify ways to coordinate transit fare policies between systems in the interest of passenger convenience.The report contains a thorough description of the existing fare policies at each agency and identifies how other urban regions in North America with multiple transit providers have dealt with the issue of fare coordination.Coordinated fare policies will make travelling through southeast Florida by transit easier, thereby reducing barriers and encouraging greater use of transit for regional travel needs.This report identifies nume;ous changes that can be made by each transit agency to standardize fare policies, including how transfers are-used, who is eligible for discounted fares, the types of fare media available to passengers, and how such fare media can be obtained by passengers.In essence, "the rules of the game" will be the same no matter what transit agencies' services a passenger uses in southeast Florida.The four transit agencies are also interested in making regional travel more attractive by offering convenient new fare media such as a Daily Regional Pass (good for all transit services in the region) and a Multi-Agency Pass that can be used for all services provided by two different counties.A true regional pass can also be offered by modifying Tri-Rail's passes to accommodate stickers that would entitle a passenger to all the services offered in one or more counties.Revenue from the sale of such stickers would be shared based on surveys of ridership.It was further agreed that sales outlets common to all three counties, such as a major grocery or pharmaceutical chain, would help promote the utilization of regional passes.The report offers several recommendations including that the interlocal agreements between Tri-Rail and the three counties should be continued in the interest of offering a "seamless" travel opportunity to those using Tri-Rail and dedicated feeder services.These agreements call for each iii county to provide feeder services to Tri-Rail without charging passenger fares.In lieu of fares, Tri-Rail should continue to provide direct payments in an amount that is consistent with each county's overall farebox return rate.If the recommendations jointly developed through this study are to be implemented, representatives of the four agencies will need to continue to meet to coordinate actions.These meetings will have the added benefit of providing opportunities to identify other areas of common interest such as service planning, equipment purchases, joint marketing efforts and identifying new regional revenues for transit.The four transit agencies should be commended for their foresight and spirit of cooperation.While inter-system transit trips represent only three percent of all transit trips made in the region today, there is every reason to believe the demand for regional travel by transit will grow in the future.When implemented, the recommendations of this report will promote greater transit use in southeast Florida.