IMPACTS OF TRANSIT FARE POLICY INITIATIVES UNDER AN AUTOMATED FARE SYSTEM

In its 2nd year of implementing an Automated Fare Collection (AFC) System, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) instituted several fare policy and pricing initiatives. Carrying these forward, and monitoring their relative revenue and ridership impacts, both were greatly facilitated by the new AFC system. Over 1.2 million daily riders now utilize AFC to access CTA's bus and rail service networks (82% of ridership), with the remainder paying cash. In addition to the use of stored-value automated farecards, monthly passes have been fully integrated with the new technology and pass usage has more than doubled. This paper reviews customer reactions, acceptance, and problems with the new AFC system, particularly in relation to fare policy pricing and initiatives. The paper covers ridership and revenue shifts among the various fare media options available, major differences for bus and rail customers regarding ease of purchase of automated farecards, and other aspects of customer behavior regarding purchase and recharge of stored-value farecards.