DISTANCE-BASED FARES ON EXPRESS BUS ROUTES (ABRIDGMENT)

Distance-based fares for bus transit have been previously shown to be more equitable than the widely used flat fares. However, with rising transit costs, an additional source of revenue is often needed. In this paper the possibility of distance-based fares as a source for this revenue is explored. Express bus service in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was used as a case study. Different fares were proposed for each route based on its length. Alternative methods of implementing distance-based fares were then proposed. The findings revealed that a small revenue gain is possible without suffering a ridership loss. Conversely, slightly lower fares could result in a small ridership increase with no revenue loss. A 10 percent revenue gain would require a fare increase on the longest route of 55 to 90 percent for the low and high scenarios. The corresponding fare change on the shortest route is a 20 percent decrease to a 5 percent increase. A 20 percent revenue gain would require a fare increase of 75 to 170 percent on the longest route and a 5 percent decrease to a 45 percent increase on the shortest route.