BACKGROUND

TCRP Report 10: Fare Policies, Structures, and Technologies (1995) explored developments and issues of fare policies, structures, and technologies. The report presented the experiences of transit agencies in selecting and using various approaches, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of emerging payment technologies.  Subsequently, TCRP Report 94: Fare Policies, Structures, and Technologies: Update (2003) provided a revision and update to TCRP Report 10. Since 2003, TCRP has managed research and published reports covering fare payment policies and questions, including TCRP Synthesis 101: Implementation and Outcomes of Fare-Free Transit Systems (2016); TCRP Synthesis 144: Multimodal Fare Payment Integration (2020); and TCRP Synthesis 160: Fare Capping: Balancing Revenue and Equity Impacts (2022). However, although the transit fare payment landscape has drastically changed, no major study has evaluated the state of fare policies, structures, and technologies.

Agencies need guidance and best practices on new ways of thinking about fares and fare products, including innovative concepts unlocked by the latest fare payment technologies. Since TCRP Report 94, technological innovations in open payments, mobile technology, near-field communication (NFC), Bluetooth, and cashless transactions offer opportunities to improve the ease of transit fare payment. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many transit agencies to temporarily eliminate fare collection due to operator health and safety concerns, providing those agencies an opportunity to reevaluate fare collection. The recent national discourse about social justice and equity has agencies looking for best practices for equitable fare enforcement.

OBJECTIVE

The research objective is to update TCRP Report 94 and provide a comprehensive review of fares: policies, structures, products, payment technologies, integrations, and equity. This will include summaries of and references to other TCRP publications on fare structures and technologies since TCRP Report 94.

RESEARCH PLAN

This subject is vast and covers an array of topics. The anticipated product of the research is practical information for transit professionals and policymakers in fare-related planning and decision making. The contractor shall identify innovative ways to present the information (case studies, creation of evaluation frameworks, procurement samples, online resources, fact sheets, etc.) and consider the following:

• Introduction and research approach
• Introduction
• Overview of transit fare landscape, impacts, and considerations for transit systems
• Framework for fare policy decisions
  • Metrics to measure success
  • Ridership and revenue impacts of fare structure and program updates
• Issues influencing fare policy decisions
• Fare setting objectives: revenue, equity, demand management
• Transit fares in a post-pandemic world
• Ridership and revenue considerations
• Considerations for small transit systems
• Fare equity – overview
  • Title VI analysis best practices
  • Equity analyses beyond Title VI
• Equity and environmental justice issues
• Unbanked and underbanked customers
• Low-income and other social fare programs
• Specialized discount fare programs
• Customer experience and accessibility 
• Fare policy and structure
• Introduction
• Fare structures (flat, distance-based, time-of-day, etc.)
• Fares by type of service (regular, commuter, express, limited-stop)
• Fare-free structures 
• Fare products and programs
• Introduction
• Pass products
• Fare capping
• Fare subsidy programs (university programs, employer benefits programs - “EcoPass”, community/neighborhood programs and bundling, access-to-jobs programs) 
• Fare payment and collection
  • Bike/scooter, micromobility, transportation network companies, first/last mile
• Introduction
• Cash (on-board, loading onto cards, etc.)
• Card-based payments: magnetic farecards, smart cards
• Mobile pay
• Account-based payment systems
• Open payments
• Integrated payment (as a component of mobility as a service)
• Emerging – be-in/be-out, post-payment, biometric
• Fare payment/collection marketplace overview (current vendors, pricing) 
• Planning, operational, and administrative impacts
• Public engagement best practices
• Procurement challenges
• Onboard vs offboard fare payment/loading
• Proof-of-payment / fare validation (real time vs asynchronous)
• Futureproofing fare payments
• Back-end systems issues and considerations
• Fare education
• Transit operator safety/security issues
• Fare enforcement 
• Summary of findings

The research shall include a scan of all topics listed and a deep dive into the issues of new technologies, new perspectives (equity) and fare policies, and collection options enabled by new technologies. Proposers are encouraged to review Special Note K and develop an approach that effectively disseminates this work into practice for agencies of all sizes.

The research plan shall be divided into tasks that present, in detail, the work proposed in each task. The research plan shall describe appropriate deliverables that include, but are not limited to, the following (which also represent key project milestones):

• An interim report (i.e., a technical memoranda or report) and panel teleconference, which occurs after the expenditure of no more than 40 percent of the project budget,
• Draft report,
• Final report, and
• Technical memorandum, titled “Implementation of Research Findings and Products”.
  

STATUS: Proposals have been received in response to the RFP. The project panel will meet to select a contractor to perform the work.