Bus, rail and ferry fares are often the subject of scrutiny and questioning by the customers who are most affected by price and product changes. With few or no alternatives other than private cars and taxis, transit customers are often at the mercy of the governments and operators who make the decisions about the prices to be charged for the services they provide. The level of discussion and debate increases substantially when, as in recent years in Australia and elsewhere, fares have been increased above the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Higher than CPI fare increases understandably are not popular with transit customers. And with the increase in social media, customers are better able to make their views known to decision makers and the public at large. This benchmarking survey is intended to contribute to the public debate about fares and fare levels. It uses publicly available data about public transport fares across 24 cities in Australia, North America, Asia and Europe to provide cities with information about where they sit relative to their peers. (Author/publisher)
Abstract