Quote:
Originally Posted by VivaLFuego
In an ironic reversal from the 1979 snowstorm debacle, people making longer CTA trips are now of lower income than those making short trips. While I don't disagree with your logic, distance-based fares are a total non-starter from a Title VI/Environmental Justice/Social Standpoint, not even getting into the tens of millions in capital costs involved before such a system could be operationalized. While you and I could make convincing arguments to each other, I doubt we'd have a good response in the papers when someone asks why we want to charge the poor working single mother traveling from 95th to O'Hare overnight $5 but only charge Old Town yuppies $1.75. Beyond that, the Feds probably wouldn't even allow it for that reason, since any change has to be considered based on it's impact on certain protected classes. Since WMATA was built with distance-based fares, it doesn't face the same burden of proof to continue an existing system versus switching to a new one.
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What about peak-period fare increases? It can be done with little to no additional capital cost, since it still only requires the farecard to be swiped once. They just need to have a clock in the farebox, which IIRC is already installed and shows up on the little LED screen.
If, as you seemed to indicate, a large percentage of low-income riders are traveling at off-peak times, then the peak-period increases would affect largely middle-class and upper-class commuters who work a 9-5. They'd grumble, of course, but it's better than an across the board raise, because the alternative options suck during AM and PM rush hour. The roads are clogged and taxis are occupied. It would also avoid the problem of decreasing the off-peak ridership, and it wouldn't discourage people from using transit for socialization or running errands any more than the current pricing does.
Although SSP posters are hardly representative of the average CTA rider, I see many of the above comments where people talk about taking a cab when they go out at night, but few people threatening to start driving to work or taking a daily cab ride to work. The only cost-effective alternative to a peak-period CTA commute to downtown is a carpool, but that means a big loss of personal freedom to arrive and leave work when one chooses.
I'm not sure how it would work regarding passes. Either pass prices would have to increase dramatically, or CTA would have to sell two different types of passes for each price level. Buses, which provide non-downtown-centric service, may have a greater proportion of low-income riders during peak periods, so the strategy would have to shift on buses.