A project has been underway snce 1980 to improve the integrationof fares among the three largest public transit operators in the san francisco bay are: the san francisco bay area rapid transit district (bart), the alameda-contra costa transit district (ac), and the san francisco municipal railway (muni). Ac-muni and bart-muni joint passes were introduced in 1981 and 1983, respectively. A new joint fare instrument for ac and bart was introduced in february 1987. For the first time, bart riders using a specially marked, high-value stored-fare ticket will be able to use that ticket as a flash pass for boarding local ac buses. They will no longer need to stop at a transfer-issuing machine or carry exact change for the bus transfer payment. The added convenience and discounted fare were designed to be attractive to the regular riders and to induce them to purchase higher-valued bart tickets. It remains to be seen whether the new instrument will either attract new bart riders or cause current bart riders to shift mode of access. Beyond the immediate goal of providing another two-agency fare instrument, the project will examine new ways toexpand the use of stored-value tickets, including on-board bus equipment. This paper appeared in transportation research record no. 1144, Transit management, marketing, and performance. For covering abstract see IRRD no 818469.
Abstract