Blog - Trainsfare

February 19, 2019 Ticketing

Metro de Madrid open fare gates project keeps growing
Up to 33 stations of the subway network have their doors permanently open and only close when someone does not validate their ticket

Metro de Madrid. @metro_madrid

Last year, Metro de Madrid launched an open fare gates pilot test. This consists on permanently open access doors which only close when someone does not validate their ticket. The trial started in February 2018 at Alsacia station and continued in four other stations in late March. Currently, 33 Metro de Madrid stations run...

February 12, 2019 Fare Enforcement

Fare evasion prosecutions fall 96% in New York
Despite the decrease in arrests, fare evasion is still high and costed MTA $215 million in 2018

In February 2018, New York’s District Attorney Office introduced a new policy which decriminalized fare evasion by shifting from court citations to administrative fines. The objective was to “reduce inequality and unnecessary incarceration” for skipping a fare of $2.75 at Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA). A year later, statistics show a drop of 96% fare...

February 5, 2019 Fare Evasion, Security

Rise in victims for fare evading in Bogotá
During 2018, 13 people died trying to skip the fare at TransMilenio

Fare evasion in TransMilenio caused 13 victims in 2018

Fare evasion is not only a matter of public transport economic sustainability, but also of safety and security. In some networks, skipping the fare can be a very dangerous act and can even cause victims. This is the case of the public bus system TransMilenio in Bogotá, where fare dodgers climb the walls and...

January 29, 2019 Ticketing

Unlimited electronic tickets at Beijing subway
The Chinese metro system rolls out passes that allow passengers travel as many times as they want within fixed time periods

Beijing subway has expanded its travel options with five additional unlimited electronic tickets. Passengers can now hop on and off the network as often as they want within a fixed time period. The only exception is the airport shuttle line. Specifically, passengers can buy cards for one, two, three, five or seven days for...

January 22, 2019 Fare Enforcement, Fare Evasion

More transit inspection to combat fare evasion at TTC
The transport agency also suggests a 10% fare hike to meet capital needs and sustain operations

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is estimated to lose $50 million annually to fare evasion. An internal report made public a year ago suggested that the fare evasion rate was 4.4% instead of the official 2% figure. It also stated that a 2% reduction of this rate would save the agency more than $29 million...

January 15, 2019 Fare Enforcement, Fare Evasion

Punishment-free fare evasion in Berlin?
Investigation and punishment of fare evasion is “a waste of resources” according to the city’s Attorney-General

Decriminalizing fare evasion in public transport is becoming a tendency. Many cities in the United States have recently moved from court citations to administrative fines to speed up the judicial process. Now, Berlin suggests switching to a fully punishment-free system. Currently, fare evasion is a crime with potentially significant consequences such as large fines...

January 8, 2019 Fare Evasion

Technology upgrade to fight Opal card loophole at Sydney Airport
Since January 7th, train commuters are forced to top up their pass to stop negative balance cards

New technology to erase Opal loophole at Sydney Airport

New South Wales (Australia) public transport travel card Opal has a loophole which allows passengers to travel with a negative balance. This situation has led to a $8 million loss to fare evasion since 2014. About 90% of negative balance cases came from the Airport Line, causing $4 million loses in the last financial...

December 18, 2018 Fare Evasion

MTA loses $215 million to fare evasion
Some people blame the new policy that stops the prosecuting fare dodgers, others the fall in ridership due to the system’s failures

The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) in New York expects to lose $215 million to fare evasion in 2018. This is double the amount lost in 2015. The transport agency estimates fare dodgers in buses cost $119 million. People who jump the turnstiles amount to $96 million loses. According to MTA officials, paying bus ridership...

December 11, 2018 General

Luxembourg, the first country to have free public transport?
The governments seeks to reduce traffic congestion and preserve the environment

Free public transport is slowly becoming a reality worldwide. Many municipalities offer zero-fare routes and the measure is expanding to bigger cities. Tallin offers free public transport since 2013, except for the train. This March, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, announced the launch of a study mission on the possibility of no fares...

December 4, 2018 Fines

Annual pass reduces ticketless passengers in Prague
The ticket fine reprieve Nejedeš načerno? turns 4500 fare-dodgers into annual public transport pass holders

Last October, Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) implemented an innovative ticket fine reprieve called “Nejedeš načerno?”(Not black riding, are you?). When caught travelling without a valid ticket, fare-dodgers can reduce the fine by half by buying an annual public transport pass. Since then, more than 4,500 people have turned from ticketless passengers to annual...