MARTA may charge by the mile or time of day (Atlanta: how much, buy)

[noah]

MARTA may charge by the mile or time of day | Political Insider


This would be great. I'd be more likely to take it for a stop or two if it was a lower base amount for a short distance like D.C.

[Mgyeldell]

I think its a wonderful Idea it may help the system out if they get no state funding.

[PKCorey]

I blame Greg!

Interesting...I'm scared to see how much it would be on the subway from the airport to the Alphretta...

This reminds me of the MTA when I was younger in Baltimore, they used to have zones and if you went of the zone, you had to pay extra before you could get off the bus.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

I blame Greg!

Hey, well, join the club! So far, a handful of people who habitually complain about me have said I'm the cause of global warming, the floods a few months ago, and somewhere along the time Bush/Obama, the most recent snow storm, and the earthquake in Haiti fall in there, too. My can is open - just dump this in there, too.

And they're called "zone fares", which are used in many transit agencies in the U.S. and the world, and are a very fair way of charging people by distance traveled. I mean, when you ride a cab it's usually not a flat fare under normal circumstances. When you drive your own car you're burning more gas $ per mile, etc. Transit isn't/shouldn't be any different.

The Breeze tap card system they put in place theoretically makes this simple. You just keep your card charged up with cash, and would tap it as you leave a station as opposed to before you enter it as you do now. Then the proper amount of funds would be taken off the card as you leave the exiting station. You travel 1-3 stops and may only then have to pay 75-cents, but suburbanites who part at Doraville might have to pay $3.00 each way, etc. Fair. Too bad they took a couple of decades to figure it out.

[PKCorey]

It was very common in the past? Interesting.

That's it. Zone fares. You used to have pay more, if you went out into Baltimore County etc etc...

I wonder, if MARTA used to have it?

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

It was very common in the past? Interesting.

That's it. Zone fares. You used to have pay more, if you went out into Baltimore County etc etc...

I wonder if MARTA used to have it?

Nope, MARTA has always been flat rate.

As for this model I am in favor of it. I do think it is a little silly that I (if my company didn't provide me with a free monthly card ) have to pay the same amount to do my daily 2 stop Lenox to Arts Center commute as someone who is riding from the Airport to North Springs. It will still be cheaper more than likely than taking a cab to downtown or wherever.

I also hope that MARTA will only apply this to the trains since there aren't any cross town bus routes other than the #110

[Brillemeister]

I'm not opposed to the idea itself of zone-based fares, but it's only been four months since MARTA's fare per ride hit $2. This might make business sense, but I can imagine some riders who are already upset deciding to bail if this becomes their new fare structure. Then, what MARTA has itself is a death spiral of increasing fares and decreasing service and usage, one begetting the other and vice versa, until either the state of Georgia finally decides to intervene, the federal government intervenes, or Atlanta become the largest city in the United States without public transit.

[blondandfun]

LOL, they should add a hoodlum/bum/hoodrat surcharge... they'd make GOLD

[noah]

Is it really a fair increase though? For daily commuters they most likely buy a monthly pass which would still be available. For the occasional Alpharetta to Airport traveler, sure they will pay more then someone who takes it from Midtown to Buckhead.

I can tell you that I would be much more likely to take it on short trips then I am now if the base fare was lower.

Originally Posted by Brillemeister

I'm not opposed to the idea itself of zone-based fares, but it's only been four months since MARTA's fare per ride hit $2. This might make business sense, but I can imagine some riders who are already upset deciding to bail if this becomes their new fare structure. Then, what MARTA has itself is a death spiral of increasing fares and decreasing service and usage, one begetting the other and vice versa, until either the state of Georgia finally decides to intervene, the federal government intervenes, or Atlanta become the largest city in the United States without public transit.

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by noah

MARTA may charge by the mile or time of day | Political Insider


This would be great. I'd be more likely to take it for a stop or two if it was a lower base amount for a short distance like D.C.

Sounds good but I would imagine that once they study it, they'll find that it would not be cost effective given the cost to implement it and the extent system that we have. A distance based fare system makes sense where there is actually a comprehensive system, something we unfortunately do not have in Atlanta. Any increased revenue from Doraville and Sandy Springs would be more than offset by lower rates intown since most of the busiest stations are where people live near the stations - intown.