Recife Buses Introduce Turnstiles to Counter Fare Evasion
Pernambuco government's move aims to reduce significant revenue losses.

© Matheus Farias / Unsplash

In order to reduce fare evasion, the Recife Metropolitan Region in Brazil is currently testing turnstiles on 14 bus lines. The Pernambuco government has accompanied this program since it started in June.    The Grande Recife Metropolitan Transport Consortium (Grande Recife Consórcio de Transporte Metropolitano, CTM) has already equipped 32 out of the 41 buses...

Brisbane deploys extra officers to tackle fare evasion
Authorities want to reduce a spike in fare infractions and violent incidents in public transport

Brisbane Bus © choosebrisbane.com.au

Annually, billions of euros are lost to fare evasion worldwide. It is a corrosive problem for public transport companies, posing a threat to safety and financial sustainability. Authorities in Brisbane, Australia, are deploying extra public transport safety officers to patrol and monitor fare evasion. The new senior officers will patrol on trains, ferries and...

4x more fare evasion on Dutch buses during Covid-19
Offenders took advantage of back-door bus boarding and reduced fare inspections to avoid paying

Bus in Amsterdam © Alexandre Debieve / Unsplash

The Covid-19 outbreak imposes a new set of sanitary rules to prevent the spread of the virus infection. For public transport users, this basically resumes to social distancing, and wearing face masks. Public transport companies also took extra preventive measures such as back-door bus boarding, and vehicle and station disinfection. Unfortunately some travellers see...

Fare evasion impact in Washington D.C.
Recent system upgrades aim to provide more accurate ridership data to measure and prevent rising fare evasion rates

Riders on Washington DC subway

Fare evasion is a global issue causing losses of billions of euros. Washington D.C. ranks third in the US for the financial impact caused by fare evasion, after Massachusetts’ Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). In 2019, fare evasion losses on buses amounted to €24.4m ($29m), and €9.2m ($11m)...

Fare inspections to resume on Toronto’s public transport
After a two-month pause during the pandemic, fare inspectors will gradually resume their normal duties this summer

Toronto tram in operation

TTC – short for Toronto Transit Authority, announced that fare inspectors will gradually resume activity on its premises and vehicles. During June, they will board vehicles once again to ‘remind customers to pay their fare’. They will be placed at key surface transfer points to ‘observe and educate customers and to make sure they...

Safety in public transport: social distancing vs face masks
Social distancing is much harder to implement post-lockdown than asking passengers to wear face masks yet it is regarded by the majority of authorities as a key measure in stopping Covid19

London Tube

Authorities and public transit organisations have yet to agree on the best way forward to revive public transport while ensuring safety from Covid-19. So far it looks like most decision makers consent on the measure of wearing face masks. These are now obligatory in public transport in countries like Germany, China, and Spain. However,...

Mobility apps reveal user public transit data during Covid-19
Moovit, Citymapper, Transit, Apple and Google confirm similar trends albeit with some variations

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Demand for public transport fell to record lows in the past months as the Coronavirus swept through communities around the world. Ridership fell from 65% to less than 10% of normal capacity, and transit organisations adapted their schedules and service frequency to reflect demand. We looked at the data from several urban mobility apps...

Face masks: how effective against Covid-19 in public transport?
As authorities start to ease restrictions people are asked to wear masks in public places to minimise the risk of spreading the virus

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Public transport travel has changed dramatically since the outbreak of coronavirus. Operators are confronted with staff deaths and infections, massive drops in ridership, and some companies require bailout money to keep service running. Several countries have introduced new rules for travelling in public transport in order to limit the spread of the disease. One...

Pink buses offer safer rides for women in Tijuana, Mexico
A recent survey on females using public buses in Tijuana showed that 75% of them have been victims of some form of harassment or assault

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A new pilot program in Tijuana, Mexico offers pink-painted buses on the Línea Rosa (Pink Line), which can only be ridden by women, children younger than 12, disabled persons, and seniors. The bus service is offered by the public transport operator Verde y Crema in collaboration with INMUJER (Women’s Municipal Institute in Tijuana). The...

Crackdown on fare dodgers in Genoa, Italy
2.876 passengers were checked and 110 fines were issued in an operation which involved 22 ticket inspectors and local police agents

amt_genoa_italy_public_transport_bus

In its efforts to fight fare evasion, Genoa’s public transport company ATM conducted another major ticket inspection operation on its network on Thursday 3rd October 2019. The operation involved 22 ticket inspector officers who were accompanied by local police agents. In total, 2,876 passengers on 231 buses were checked, of which 110 (3,8%) were convicted...