PAT ridership (Pittsburgh, Wall: costs, eat, vehicle)

[pman]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Buses provide a lot more flexibility for future changes in circumstances and the needs of the riders.


Tunnels and rails are pretty much stuck where they are at, once established, its extremely expensive to change the route to meet future requirements as current industrial/commercial/residential neighborhoods decline and new transit destinations emerge.

of course nearly a century after the spine line was first proposed, little has changed to alter the desirability of this route. even more to the point, the highways often follow the rail corridors that came before them. not everything actually needs to be flexible, some elements of demand are fixed for all intents and purposes.

Originally Posted by that412

... Or, we could move ahead right now with BRT, which would still be a massive leap from the status quo.

massive is a bit of an overstatement. I wouldn't mind seeing a subway surface light rail between downtown and oakland. probably the easiest change to implement would be to restore some off peak ridership that was devastated by service cuts and fare increases.

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by that412

No argument there - I try to expedite the process by having the money in hand and ready to go and not fumbling around in pockets or wallets, but I do still feel a little bit guilty for contributing to the slowdown. Still, as you said, I have no incentive to get a CC at this moment.

Wow, I didn't realize that CC's still used a paper transfer. I assumed the card would register the boarding time, and if you use the card again within two hours, it automatically only charges you a dollar.

How does that work, though? Like how does the box know to charge you for $3.50 if you want a transfer?

That would be the easiest way to implement the Transfer onto the CC, wouldn't it? But then PAT also has to account for Zone changes and the additional fare required for that.

I'd prefer it if PAT did away with the Zones altogether and made one base fare for local service and one for say "Premium Express" This would make it so much easier for everyone involved...Bus Drivers don't have to worry about who got on where and if they skipped over into another zone, the fare becomes much easier for the passengers to remember.

My plan I would charge a 3$ base fare for Local/BRT/T/Incline, and 3$ get you 3hrs of access to the system (transfer as much as you'd like except to Express Buses), Express buses would be 5$ and gets you the same 3hrs but you can transfer to any service including other Express Buses.

Also Implement a 1-day 5$, 7-day 20$, and 30-day 80$, passes. Passes would no longer be on Calendar Cycles, but by Time of Purchase, meaning if you buy a 1-day pass it would be good from the first "Tap" until end of service next morning (4am).... 7-day would be 7 days from the first "Tap" and same with the 30-day

Again all fare Pay Enter at all times, Center/Rear Doors Exit Only at all stops.

Premium Express - Direct Express Service to Oakland/Downtown with Limited to No Stopping outside of the Primary Destination of Route. Use of Coach Style buses for premium effect. Also establish routes around Park N Ride Access. 28X would also be converted to a Premium Express Route.

[pman]

so a trip to the strip and back on the same bus would be $3 if three hours or less ?

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by pman

so a trip to the strip and back on the same bus would be $3 if three hours or less ?

Yep...3$, 3 Hrs access to the System regardless of distance...If you know you'll be riding for more that 3 hrs, buy a 1-day pass for 5$ and save 1$ on having to buy an additional 3 hr "Pass"...And since all fare would be Pay Enter, you only need to worry about boarding your return trip within the 3-hr window after that doesn't matter how long your ride is, unlike the current outdated antiquated Pay Exit system. So one could essentially ride round trip from Robinson Town Ctr to New Ken on one 3$ fare with proper timing of the connections.

[pman]

you couple that with cash bonuses (20+5) and youve got a deal. while overall ridership hasnt cratered weekend ridership plummeted from 233k to 160k in fy12 which says to me pat has gotten much better at moving people at rush hour but the service cuts /fare hikes devastaed weekend ridership. u der your scenario it would cost me $3 to run to the strip and $5 to do that and go out to a bar later. if i chose to go to a bar only it would run me $4 ($2 trip). all in all a much better scebario than tidays

[captainmidnight]

Yes, PAT desperately needs a day/weekend pass for visitors and/or infrequent riders. I can only imagine what it must feel like to be a tourist and to try and understand our transit system.

A PAT mobile app would be great. A third party would probably have to make it. The features should be:

- Schedules and route/system maps
- Real Time Tracking
- ConnectCard management
- Fare information
- Customer Service Information

All of those could be done now except for the ConnectCard part (website management is in testing right now) and Real Time Tracking API's will be released later next year probably. If I only had more free time..

[pman]

as a traveller i find schedules areless relevant except to k ow roughly how often and how late a route runs. i just click on the nearest bus stop in google maps and it gives me the times of the next buses. maps would be helpful i suppose. a day lass would be nice but a discount on fares would be enough. $5 rt is a lot for a short ride. its hard to figure out where to be a card since the first guess is the machines and nobody seems to know where to buy one other than giant eagle. anyway google maps has totally changed how i use transit in other cities when i visit

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by bmantz65

Yes, PAT desperately needs a day/weekend pass for visitors and/or infrequent riders. I can only imagine what it must feel like to be a tourist and to try and understand our transit system.

A PAT mobile app would be great. A third party would probably have to make it. The features should be:

- Schedules and route/system maps
- Real Time Tracking
- ConnectCard management
- Fare information
- Customer Service Information

All of those could be done now except for the ConnectCard part (website management is in testing right now) and Real Time Tracking API's will be released later next year probably. If I only had more free time..

These are good suggestions for an All Inclusive App. However I don't think PAT would be willing to 3rd Party the CC management portion since you are dealing with Fare Control, and people's Banking Information since I would guess the App would be able to store Credit/Debit Card information along with ones ConnectCard information behind a Username Password Login for quick access to Refills/Balance Info/Lost Stolen reporting. I guess PAT could 3rd Party it out for building, but would manage the App and its updates In-House.

I would build the app to be compatible with iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Screw Blackberry its dead, no future.

Originally Posted by pman

as a traveller i find schedules areless relevant except to k ow roughly how often and how late a route runs. i just click on the nearest bus stop in google maps and it gives me the times of the next buses. maps would be helpful i suppose. a day lass would be nice but a discount on fares would be enough. $5 rt is a lot for a short ride. its hard to figure out where to be a card since the first guess is the machines and nobody seems to know where to buy one other than giant eagle. anyway google maps has totally changed how i use transit in other cities when i visit

You can only get cards at GE and PAT downtown....Machines are just for Refilling. One thing I don't like is that GE doesn't have all of the CC management that Downtown does, and it should, not everyone has time to run into town to replace a card that has a balance, GE should be able to do this as well.

[I_Like_Spam]

Why not just let patrons swipe their credit or debit cards for bus fare on the vehicle? Why necessitate another id like the connect card?

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Why not just let patrons swipe their credit or debit cards for bus fare on the vehicle? Why necessitate another id like the connect card?

I'd expect for the same reason merchants really hate to use them for small transactions. They get eaten by fees.