Fare experiments in public transport. Recently there has been a lot of publicity concerning fare experiments in public transport. This is partly caused by the decentralisation of the responsibility and means to the local government and the introduction of public tenders. An evaluation of the fare experiment in the municipality of Apeldoorn proves that the results are better than expected, in regard of the number of passengers and in financial terms. Also in other municipalities experiments took place or plans have been made to reduce the fares or even to offer public transport for free. To be mentioned are Eindhoven, Dordrecht, Haarlem, Arnhem en Almere. Literature search shows that there are three main goals for the local government to start a fare experiment: Improving the attainability en attractiveness of the citycentre; A modal shift in favour of public transport at the expense of car (less car use); Breaking the social isolation for those who have modest incomes (everyone has a right to be mobile). In what way are fare adjustments a contribution in achieving these goals? The monitoring and evaluations of existing and new experiments should give an answer to this question. This paper describes the recent state of affairs. Also recommendations for using the right methods are made when a local government wants to start an experiment. (Author/publisher)
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