I’ve noticed over the years that fares for Northeastern suburban operations tend to be higher than those in the Midwest and West. A general rule of thumb is a farebox recovery ratio of at least 50%, fares cover at least half of expenses.
I think LIRR has the lowest per-mile fare in the country-- as long as you’re riding from Bellport to Montauk. $2.25 adult one-way for … 58 miles as I recall.
Boston fares are cheaper than New York area fares, LA’s Metrolink is comparable to Boston, Caltrain in San Francisco is cheaper and Chicago looks to be the cheapest.
How do Commuter Railroads cover there costs? Taxes or Fare Box? Do they own the ROW or rent it from a Freight Railroad? Fare cost per mile can not apply.
Most Commuter Railroads operate on a budget based on Fare Box Revenue AND Tax Payer Support. Less Tax Payer Support = higher Fares! More cash from the State or Cities = lower Fares.
In Boston, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) assess each town served a part of the operating cost to cover the deficit from Fares. As costs and labor rises, Fares go up.
Probably trying to compare one operation’s fares to another’s is not practical. Operating costs; terrain; geography; closeness of stations; shared trackage; real estate costs; operating employees, non operating employees, and supervisory empoyees, et. al., costs; equipment styles; fuel(s); union rules; and marketing vs. competition are all factors. And that’s probably just for starters.
Madison Metro recovers something on the order of 30 cents on the dollar in fares.
There is one customer, however, who needs to be charged the full cost of riding the bus. My employer.
There is this thing called Transportation Demand Management where driving to work is evil whereas almost any other mode is virtuous. Some of the demands on what is called in the biz TDM are that constructing enough parking spaces for everyone to drive is impossible, let along cost effective. Other demands come from the view of saving the environment, although the energy-intensity of transit is not as low as you would think.
So the University of Wisconsin lets me ride the bus for free, because it is cheaper to bribe me with a free bus ride than to build more parking garages (we call them ramps). Well, if the U is going to make an economic decision on the tradeoff between employee parking and employee bus passes, the cost to the U of the contract with Madison Metro should be for the “full freight”, not this 30 cents on the dollar arrangement.
You might say, a large share of the subsidy to Madison Metro comes from the State of Wisconsin, and tuition at the U is subsidized by the State, so the money all comes from taxpayers in one form or another anyway, what difference does it make that the U gets employee bus access out of the DOT budget instead of out of its own budget?
I tell you what difference it makes, the difference is sitting in Faculty Senate and getting the annual scolding about the expense of providing parking and how the bus is so much cheaper all around. If the U payed the fully-allocated costs associated with its bus contract, there would be a more level playing field in the cost comparison and the scolding would be less annoying.
Umm yeah. I ride/commute that branch and the service is on par with the price. Late again today. And put us off within zone, but not in Pennsylvania Station, but at Hunterspoint avenue in Queens because of “equipment trouble”. When it rains, the signal system gives them fits. The service for anyone other than commuters is non existant. And if that isn’t bad enough, since it is single track from Sayville east, any blockage caused by disabled trains stops any movement. That all said, when it’s good, it’s a bargain. I couldn’t do the 65 mile each way commute for what a monthly ticket costs.
I can remember the CTA in Chicago running frequent A and B trains back in the day before they were lopped off due to budget constraints. The lines at stops are awe inspiring now…Now I hear they are removing the seats (believe it or not) to provide more standee room as they cannot afford new equipment…they seem to have a mishap of the month these days…falsified track record inspections…in the subway no less…an era of tight budgets…Da Mayor wants to host the Olympics…as we have a wonderful transportaion system here…pass that bottle over here…The days of North shore trains from as far away as Milwaukee whizzing past on the express tracks…luxury Electroliner trains on the L…diminished expectations these days? Why do I feel next, the tracks will become bicycle paths to eek out an illusionary service in order to appease budgetary constraints?