Is flat fare fair? Equity impact of fare scheme change

Journal article (2020)

Authors

Isak Jarlebring Rubensson KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Yusak O. Susilo BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
O. Cats Transport and Planning - CEG , KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Research Group
Transport and Planning (CEG) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2020 Isak Rubensson, Yusak Susilo, O. Cats
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2020.03.013
Public transport Distribution Equity Gini index Fare-schemes Transport demand models
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Published Date

01-06-2020

Language

English

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Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Department

Transport and Planning

Research Group

Transport and Planning

Abstract

When Public Transport Administrations propose changes in fare schemes or increased fares, they are often met with concerns regarding the proposed fare schemes fairness. Implicit in these concerns is an understanding of relations governing land use and public transport, impacting equity. In this paper, we use socio-economic statistics of census areas in conjunction with public transport travel data from a transport forecast model to assess the geographical and distributional fairness of alternative fare schemes: flat, zone-based and distance-based. We discuss our result in relation to both the scientific literature and the known “truths” in the public debate. The method is applied to the Case study of Stockholm public transport. We find that high-income travelers benefit from all three fare schemes considered but, in contrast to much of the literature, least by flat fares. A strong distance-dependent fare could be horizontally equitable but has poor vertical equity.