UITP 46TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS, BRUSSELS 1985. NO. 8 FARE SYSTEMS AND FARE COLLECTION--RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND FUTURE ASPECTS

Automatic fare collection offers the potential for differentiated fares taking into account such passenger characteristics as age, family status and economic status along with trip characteristics such as origin and destination, trip reason, date and time of day. Passengers will demand increasing simplification and convenience at the same time there is a definite trend toward zone fares and integration of transit systems with system-wide fares. The use of single tickets, token and cash fares is declining with half of trips now being make with multiple-ride tickets of a constantly increasing diversity aimed at target groups of passengers. It is recommended that UITP clearly define concepts in the fields of fares and their collection. Because of the link between marketing and users' costs, the fare structure is an essential instrument of transit marketing. From the UITP survey it is shown that the policy underlying many fare and fare collection systems is not well defined. The fundamental objectives of any fare system should be a correct orientation of the flow of passengers, coverage of operating costs, and redistribution of social resources.