Wristbands, a new way to pay for public transport
Vancouver’s transport agency TransLink trials alternatives to Compass Cards
Vancouver’s transport agency TransLink keeps innovating in ticketing options. After deploying the Compass Card fare system two years ago and introducing a Tap-to-Pay system earlier this year, TransLink is testing wristbands an alternative form of paying. “We are always looking for new ways to improve customer experience” they state. Wristbands would work as the...
TransMilenio punishes fare dodgers with cleaning duties
The transport operator in Bogotá loses 477,000 million pesos annually due to fare evasion
More than 600.000 people fare evade every day at TransMilenio, the metropolitan transport system in Bogotá. In order to reduce the amount of people using the public transport without paying, TransMilenio is deploying new pedagogical actions. The latest was punishing fare dodgers with cleaning the floors of stations. They also had to write slogans...
PRESTO fare card system shows “continued performance below targets”
The electronic payment system in Ontario (Canada) is costing millions and does not achieve the expected reliability rates to fully eliminate tickets, passes, tokens and cash
The electronic payment system PRESTO, which works across local transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and Ottawa, has a long way to go. According to an internal Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) briefing obtained by Toronto Star newspaper, PRESTO shows “continued performance below targets”. Problems with operating transactions and card readers keep...
Fare evasion crackdown in Rome
Rome's public transport operator ATAC issued a record 16,000 fines in one month
Rome’s public transport agency ATAC is running a new round of ticket checks aimed to reduce fare evasion rates on its fleet of vehicles. Since the start of the year controllers have verified around 2 million passengers, 8,5% more than last year. In a new coordinated effort in September 2018, the agency issued a record...
MBTA postpones fare gates deployment in commuter rail platforms
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will wait until 2021 to make it coincide with the installation of the all-electronic payment
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is postponing its plan to install new fare gates in commuter rail platforms. The reason is the all-electronic payment system scheduled for 2021. The transport agency believes it makes more sense to wait and deploy both systems at the same time. Fare gates were scheduled for early this...
Negative balances on Opal cards amount to $2.9 million loss
Card system upgrades and a crackdown on fare evaders have provided a partial solution for the issue
An Opal card loophole at Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW), Australia allowed travellers to obtain new cards at no cost whilst ditching used unregistered cards that had outstanding negative balances. In the financial year of 2018-2019, this amounted to about $2.9 million in losses, $1 million less than the previous financial year. $2.9...
Fare evasion in Athens’ buses falls by 14%
The mandatory front-door boarding and ticket validating measure introduced in July shows initial promising results
Since July, people can only board Athens’ buses form the front door and are obliged to validate their ticket. After only one week of implementation, this measure already achieved a 100% ticket validation increase. Two months later, good news keep on coming: fare evasion in Athens’ buses has fallen by 14%. The reduction of...
MetroLink Access Project: studying station designs to improve fare enforcement and security
Metro Transit in Greater St. Louis area temporarily modifies access to three MetroLink stations to obtain evidence-based metrics on fare enforcement
Transport agency in Greater St Louis area (USA) Metro Transit launches today the MetroLink Access Project. This plan consists in temporarily modifying access to three light rail MetroLink stations to study station designs and passenger movement. The objective is to measure the impact station architecture has on fare evasion and security. How does...
Full height gates to discourage fare evasion
BART is considering investing $200 million to replace its waist high fare gates for a higher barrier infrastructure
After implementing a proof of payment program last March, BART continues seeking measures to tackle fare evasion. The San Francisco Bay Area’ rapid transport operator is now considering replacing its waist high doors for full height gates. The objective is to discourage people from trespassing fare gates without a valid ticket. 22,000 people skip...
From court citations to administrative fines
Many transport operators in the US are changing their penalty system when it comes to fare evasion to avoid court
Many US transport operators are shifting from criminal citations to administrative fines for fare evaders. Transit agencies are giving more power to ticket controllers, who can now issue fines to those who do not pay for their use of public transport. There is no need to go to court, thus, payments are lower and...
Trainsfare is an initiative aimed to raise awareness about the global issue of fare evasion in public transport.
We publish articles regularly on the topics of fare evasion, ticketing, public transport finance, technology, and safety and security. Our articles are sourced from mass transit operators and from trusted news sources and publications.
Trainsfare is a project managed by Awaait, a Barcelona-based company developing AI Video Analytics software.