Does the RTD Monthly Pass Make Fiscal Sense to Anyone?

[livecontent]

Again I would like to give some of you a little to think about who do no use Public Transit. This is an old post of mine:

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"For the people who will never use Public transit and feel you will get no benefit--you are wrong:

Public transit takes off the roads, many of the elderly who should not longer drive--that makes your driving safer; and when you become elderly, who will drive you...

Public transit takes more people off the highways--that gives you less traffic congestions for your driving. If you do not believe it--see what happens when there is a transit strike.

Public transit provides a means for your children to get back and forth to activities without you driving them everywhere plus helps keep them out of cars of new young drivers who take risks.

Public transit gives mobilitiy access to the disabled, which you may become.

Public transit improves the quality of the environment--of course you may not care.

Public transit provides more parking spaces because there are less cars, so there is more for you.

Public transit gives you something to complaint about because you need to oppose anything that threatens your love of a car.

Public transit gives you advantage in buying a new car because people who use public transit buy new cars less often; there will be less demand. So you will be viewed as special and the car salesmen will slobber over you with more attention and a lower price.

Public transit feathers your ego and allows you to feel sorry for those waiting at a bus stop.

Public transit gives you the opportunity to pay for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) access on the highway. HOV lanes are a part of Public Transit, mainly for buses; but will allow those with the money to get a faster ride and gives you bragging rights as you look at the poor slobs caught in traffic. However, I think you need a Lexus for the "Lexus Lanes" to really feel important.

Public transit buses gives you the opportunity to rage when you are caught behind one; or would you prefer to be stuck behind an elderly man, wearing a fedora, driving real slow with his turn blinkers on because it is his only means to get around.

And you thought you got no benefit."

Livecontent[/i]

[zenkonami]

Originally Posted by KaaBoom

Sorry burst your bubble, but RTD fares are not competitive with any other cities anywhere.

Light Rail Fares (max)

Denver $5.00
Cleveland $3.50
Pittsburgh $3.25
Seattle $2.75
San Diego $2.50
Sacramento $2.50
Portland $2.40
St. Louis $2.25
Salt Lake City $2.25
Minneapolis $2.25
New Jersey $2.10
Boston: $2.00
San Francisco $2.00
Philadelphia $2.00
San Jose $2.00
Phoenix $1.75
Dallas $1.75
Charlotte $1.75
Buffalo $1.75
Baltimore $1.60
Los Angeles $1.50
Newark $1.50
Houston $1.25

I know this post is a little older, but just wanted to add that my buddy from Philly was complaining recently about SEPTA's max fares being $10, not $2.

SEPTA | Tickets

[MileHighandLovingIt]

I do agree with Livecontent on Public Transit. I WANT to use it more. I have lived in many other metro areas and Denver's light rail is the cleanest I've ever used. My problem is RTD is raising fares while reducing service. It's not even that I refuse to pay the daily use rate - since they've structured fare zones and fares to make it ridiculous for the single person buyer I won't buy a pass. The problem is that they're asking me to pay more and go further out of my way and adjust my schedule by so much that they are killing any practicality for me and many like me.

This is my point:
The more they cut service, the more riders they lose. So they raise fares to cover costs. The more they raise fares and cut service, the bigger the hassel to use RTD busses. People don't increase their daily headaches by making their schedule and budgets tighter just for the "privilege" of using RTD. So except for people who have absolutely no choice but to adjust, the rest of us just eat the additional gas cost and say "To hell with the bus. I'll just drive today." And now that I have to drive to the light rail station because bus routes in my area of the suburbs have been drastically cut while fares for the use of the busses and rails have gone up, RTD is shooting themselves in the foot.

The reason that the car became so ubiquitous in America is because Ford figured out the way to make supply high, and cost low. If RTD increased their services and dropped the fees (for example the 3 zone fare trap for a pass if you live in southwest and work in the southeast), they'd garner more riders because by increasing supply and making money on volume instead of trying to nut on each ticket, they fit their target markets' lives and budgets. Instead, they expect people to travel farther (on foot or by cab if they don't own a car), and schedule tighter in order to pay for a more expensive ride that doesn't take them as far as it used to. It's simple economics. They're cutting supply, increasing the price, and don't understand why their routes continue to die. It hurts me because I believe that everyone benefits from public transportation. It increases safety, is better for the environment, and relaxes traffic. But RTD, by cutting routes, raising rates, and scheming fare zones on passes to target companies rather than the single rider, has effectively made it fiscally and practically infeasible for me and I'm sure hundreds like me to ride.