Fare and Ticketing Systems in Europe

Transcription

1 Fare and Ticketing Systems in Europe

2 Fare and Ticketing Systems in Europe 1

3 2 YTV Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council, Opastinsilta 6 A Helsinki, Finland tel. exch fax Further information: Pirkko Lento, tel pirkko.lento@ytv.fi Cover picture: WSP Finland Helsinki 2008

4 3 Introduction The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council s travel card system will be replaced by In conjunction with this work the need to renew the fare and ticketing system will be evaluated. A preliminary study on renewing the fare and ticketing system was completed in October To complement the preliminary study, this followup study consists of an overview of the fare and ticketing systems used in other, mostly European, cities. The eleven European cities chosen for this study were Barcelona, Amsterdam, Zürich, Stuttgart, Vienna, Manchester and London as well as the Nordic cities of Stockholm, Malmö, Gothenburg, Oslo and Copenhagen. Of these cities Vienna, Barcelona, Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen are so called BEST cities, which monitor the quality of their respective public transport systems in cooperation. In addition to the European cities, Singapore was also included in the study as it uses a distance based fare system for both bus and rail transport. The structure and characteristics of the fare and ticketing system of each city was studied. The report is divided into chapters for each city. Every chapter begins with basic information concerning the city such as the number of inhabitants, surface area and population density. The currently used fare and ticketing systems are described to the same extent as they are explained to ordinary passengers on the Internet pages of, for example, the parties responsible for providing transport services. However, to prevent the study from becoming a mere listing, the marginal ticket products or the most insignificant details of the fare systems have been left out. 24/48 hour tickets or other tickets offered for tourists that, in addition to the transport services, include also other benefits to Museums or similar kinds of places are not dealt with in this study. However, the especially interesting bonus services offered by some cities in connection with tickets have been shortly presented (E.G. Barcelona). A central part of the work has been a written interview sent to the experts of each city, where the experts were asked to analyze the advantages and weak sides of the fare and ticketing systems of their city from different viewpoints. The answers of each city are presented in the end of each chapter. In the same connection the recently made or planned significant reforms of the fare and ticketing systems are presented. The final report was drawn in such way that it is as similar as possible for each city thus enabling comparisons. The report includes a summary and conclusion section, where the advantages and weaknesses of different systems have been analyzed. At the same time the grades awarded to the cities belonging to the BEST network based on, for example, the price/quality ratio of the transport services were analyzed. This study was drafted by M.Sc. Kerkko Vanhanen from the WSP Finland. The study was mentored by Head of Unit, Pirkko Lento, YTV Passenger Services Unit..

5 5 Abstract page Published by: YTV Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council Author: Date of publication Title of publication: Fare and Ticketing Systems in Europe Financed by / Commissioned by: YTV Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council Abstract: The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council s travel card system will be replaced by In conjunction with this work the need to renew the fare and ticketing system will be evaluated. A preliminary study on renewing the fare and ticketing system was completed in October This study consists of an overview of fare and ticketing systems used in other, mostly European, cities and is intended to complement the preliminary study. The eleven European cities chosen for this study were Barcelona, Amsterdam, Zürich, Stuttgart, Vienna, Manchester and London as well as the Nordic cities of Stockholm, Malmö, Gothenburg, Oslo and Copenhagen. Of these cities Vienna, Geneva, Barcelona, Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen are so called BEST cities, which monitor the quality of their respective public transport systems in cooperation. In addition to the European cities, Singapore was also included in the study as it uses a distance based fare system for both bus and rail transport. The structure and characteristics of the fare and ticketing system of each city was studied. The report is divided into chapters for each city. Every chapter begins with basic information concerning the city such as the number of inhabitants, surface area and population density. A zone based system surrounding specific central city is clearly the most common fare system. In some city regions the central city is one flat fare zone, in other regions the zone divisions are denser. According to the interviews made for this study a zone based system is not perfect from a usability viewpoint if the amount of ticket types and fare discount groups is simultaneously large and the size of the central zone is small. The discount possibilities attached to a system with small zones may not be noticed by the passengers. The goals of affordable travel and perceived affordability by the passengers are not met in practice, if the passengers unknowingly pay more than they need to. A few cities are transitioning from a zone based system to distance based pricing. This requires the adoption of check in check out technology. Almost every city that has recently transitioned from tickets specific to transit modes or operators to an integrated ticketing system considered the change to be a vast improvement. For instance the new fare and ticketing system introduced in Barcelona in 2001 is one of city s most important public transport improvements in recent years. Discount policies vary from city to city as do the age limits attached to discounts. Some cities determine discount groups purely according to the age of the passenger, while other cities also include socioeconomic factors in their discount policies. A wide range of special tickets exists in different cities. A few cities offer reduced price season tickets, which encourage off peak travel. It is also possible to add membership of a carsharing system to a season ticket. Keywords: fare system, ticketing system, zone Publication Series title and number: YTV:n julkaisuja X/2008 ISBN (nid.) ISSN: Pages: 77 Language: English ISBN (pdf) YTV Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council, Box Helsinki, phone , fax

6 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The Studied Cities Zone Systems Distance Based Systems The Amount and Validity of Ticket Types Discounts and Special Tickets Special Features BEST Comparisons: Does the Ticket Value Correspond to Its Price? Conclusions DEFINITIONS OF THE USED TERMS Basic Charge Unit Check in check out AMSTERDAM General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card New Development Projects Interview BARCELONA General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card Recent Reforms Interview ZÜRICH General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card New Development Projects Interview STUTTGART General Fare System...33

7 8 6.3 Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card Recent Reforms Interview VIENNA General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card New Development Projects Interview MANCHESTER General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card New Development Projects Interview LONDON General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card New Development Projects Interview STOCKHOLM General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card New Development Projects Interview MALMÖ... 54

8 General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card New Development Projects Interview GOTHENBURG General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card Recent Reforms Interview COPENHAGEN General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card New Development Projects Interview OSLO General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card New Development Projects Interview SINGAPORE...69 map image: General Fare System Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets One or Several Day Passes Season Tickets Discount Groups and Special Tickets Travel Card...70

9 11 Summary and Conclusions 1.1 The Studied Cities Eleven European cities were chosen for this study: Barcelona, Amsterdam, Zürich, Stuttgart, Vienna, Manchester and London as well as the Nordic cities of Stockholm, Malmö, Gothenburg, Oslo and Copenhagen. Of these Vienna, Barcelona, Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen are so called BEST cities (Benchmarking in European Service of Public Transport). One Asian city, namely Singapore, was also studies as it uses a distance based fare system for both bus and rail transport. The cities chosen to be studied were roughly the same size as the Helsinki metropolitan area and their transport system included both bus and rail transport. London was included because of its wide tariff zone and multielement zone system. Singapore was included, because it uses a travelling distance based checkin checkout travel card system. The study was primarily carried out as an Internet research as well as by studying the literary and electronic material of the EMTA (European Metropolitan Transport Authorities). The experts of each city were also interviewed by . They were asked to evaluate the positive and negative characteristics of the fare and ticketing systems of their own city or metropolitan area. Unfortunately some of the cities did not provide adequate answers to the questions sent to them, so this data cannot be utilized here. There are numerous fare and ticketing systems in use all around Europe. Especially the amount of the available ticket types varies from city to city. Most of the fare and ticketing systems in use are zone based, at least for now. In several cities, where the central city forms a flat fare zone of its own, the zone system is used in the broader city region. In some cities the central city is also divided into zones. The Stockholm Province is an exception, since the whole province adopted a flat fare system in Fare systems based on purely distances have not been adopted in the studied cities, except in Singapore. Copenhagen is gradually transferring into a distance based fare system starting from Also Amsterdam is going to do the same in the near future. The table below presents the data of the studied cities concerning their population, surface area, the basic fare system used in the cities, the central discount group policies as well as the price of the ticket in relation to the service area. The data of this table is collected mainly during the autumn of Figures 1 and 2 present the ticket price in relation with the distance of the travelling right of the ticket.

10 12 Table 1 The basic data of the studied cities and a summary of the discount group policies. The data of the table is collected mainly during the autumn of Helsinki Amsterdam Barcelona X S X Zürich X Stuttgart Manchester London Stockholm Malmö Gothenburg 4 to 11 year olds, 3035 % No children's tickets. 4 year olds and older are liable to pay. 6 to 16 year olds, only single tickets, oneday passes and 9 o'clock X 6 to 14 year olds, 50 % X 2 X 6 to 14 year olds, 50 % 4 to 18 year olds, only season tickets, 3035 % 4 to 21 4 year olds, only a 90 day season ticket, 15 % 6 to 25 year olds, only multitickets and 30day passes, 25 % 6month pass for university students, circa 35 %, other students 30day pass, For students (under 26 year olds) an affordable 4 month semester pass, discount circa 35 %, during holidays 40 % discount from the onemonth pass X X 5 to 15 year olds, % 16 to 21 year olds 9, 25 % , X 5 to 15 year olds 11, 50 % X 7 to 19 year olds, 4050 % X 1 X 7 to 18 year olds, 50 % X 1 X Copenhagen X S Oslo Singapore 7 to 16 year olds, 3350 % discount from single and multitickets Under 16 year olds, 3350 % discount from single and multitickets X 2 X 4 to 16 year olds, 50 % X On certain rail lines and buses, children with an affordable single fare and 16 to 26 year old fulltime 16 to 18 year old students 11, 50 % No tickets available for the young or students. Children's tickets are valid till the age of 19. No tickets available for the young or students. Children's tickets are valid till the age of to 25 year olds 14, 25 % discount from season cards Season tickets for under 18 year olds, 50 % For under 20 year olds, 50 % discount from 7day cards, for students On certain rail lines and buses, students with an affordable single fare Min. 65 year olds, 3035 % No senior tickets No senior tickets Pensioners and min. 63 year olds, onemonth and oneyear passes, Oneyear pass, min 60 year old women, min. 65 year old men, 50 % Min. 60 year olds, during off peak periods free of charge, during peak periods 50 % Min. 60 year olds, during off peak periods free of charge, during peak periods 50 % 1.60 / / / / 2, / / / / / / ? / / Min. 65 year olds, 4050 % No senior tickets / No senior tickets 3month 16 passes for pensioners and min. 65 year olds, 20 % / / / / whole province / Pensioners, 50 % , Min. 60 year olds, off peak periods after 9 o'clock, single fare 0.30 / ,2 over 1) The city is part of a broader zone based system. Flat fare inside the city. 2) Flat fare within the city and separate ticket products. Additionally it is possible to use the tickets of a broader zone based fare system when using the public transport of the city. 3) Refers to the price of one journey of a 10 journey multiticket. Barcelona does not sell single tickets that are common with different types of public transport. 4) Students can buy this ticket until they turn 23. 5) A season ticket covering all the zones nationwide costs Euro. 6) The reduced price is applicable to journeys within 1 or 2 zones. A so called short distance single ticket is also available at the cost of All prices are second class ticket prices. 7) When purchased in advance, the cost of a single ticket is ) Applicable in rail traffic only during off peak. 9) Only in bus traffic ) The price of an underground journey when paid with the the Oyster card, when paid in cash, 6.07/journey (applicable to the whole zone). 11) Travelling by bus or tram is free of charge. 50 % discount from other tickets. In most cases, a personal pass is required. 12) Flat fare covering the whole province. 13) With the so called Rabattcard the price of a oneway journey is 1.32 / ) Outside Gothenburg the maximum age limit is 20 years. 15) With Maxirabatt100 card, ) Senior citizen and pensioner tickets are only 3month tickets. Travelling right for three basic charge units or for the whole service area.

11 13 Season tickets require the purchase of at least a 2 zone ticket. S=the city is about to shift to the fare system in question. Note! All distances are rough estimates measured from the zone maps. Price information was collected mainly in the autumn of Kertalipun hinta vertailukaupungeissa suhteessa matkan pituuteen matkustusoikeus [km] ,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4 kertalipun hinta [euroa] The price of a single ticket in the studied cities in comparison with the travel dis Image 1 tance. 30 päivän lipun hinta suhteessa kertalipun kilometrihintaan päivän lipun hinta [euroa] ,00 0,10 0,20 0,30 0,40 0,50 0,60 hinta kertalipulla [euroa/km] Image 2 ticket. The price of the 30day ticket in comparison with the price per kilometre of a single

12 Zone Systems Most of the fare and ticketing systems in use are zone based, at least for now. In several cities, where the central city forms a flat fare zone of its own, the zone system is used in the broader city region. In some cities the central city is also divided into zones. The Stockholm Province is an exception, since the whole province adopted a flat fare system in The advantage of the zone system is that it is possible to charge long distance travel prices that correspond to the production expenses better. On the other hand, if the zones are far apart from each other, the weakness of the system manifests itself as especially high prices of the short trips that cross zone borders. To address to this shortcoming, some cities have designed relatively dense zone divisions. The disadvantages of a dense zone division include the complexity of the system and difficulties in choosing the right ticket type. A complex fare system is especially baffling for the occasional users. According to the interviews made for this study a zone based system is not perfect from a usability viewpoint if the amount of ticket types and fare discount groups is simultaneously large and the size of the central zone is small. The discount possibilities attached to a system with small zones may not be noticed by the passengers. The goals of affordable travel and perceived affordability by the passengers are not met in practice, if the passengers unknowingly pay more than they need to. 1.3 Distance Based Systems So far the modern distance based systems are not really used anywhere in Europe. However, preparations are made to shift into a check in check out system, or this is considered in several cities, as in Copenhagen and Amsterdam. Distance based fare system is already in use in Singapore. Implementation of a distance based fare system also calls for the renewal of the ticketing system. For the system to function reliably, a so called check in check out feature must be integrated in it. This means that the ticket has to be validated both in the beginning and in the end of the journey. Even though this operation might sound complex to the user, it is already in use, for example, in London (zone based system) and in Singapore. 1.4 The Amount and Validity of Ticket Types Almost every city that has recently transitioned from tickets specific to transit modes or operators to an integrated ticketing system considered the change to be a vast improvement. For instance the new fare and ticketing system introduced in Barcelona in 2001 is one of city s most important public transport improvements in recent years. From the passenger viewpoint clear advantages of the integrated tickets include the clearly lower base price and the opportunity to transfer connections without additional charges. On the other hand also the transport service providers have benefited. Along with the new ticketing system the annual increase of the amount of the public transport journeys rose from 2 % to 5 %. A few cities offer reduced price season tickets, which encourage off peak travel. However, the ticket selection may not be too wide and tailored specifically to every need. Stuttgart experiences show that an "over flexible" ticketing system is difficult to use and may even lead to a situation where some of the passengers choose too expensive tickets for their journey without knowing it. 1.5 Discounts and Special Tickets Discount policies vary from city to city. As a general rule, when travelling with a multiticket or season ticket, one journey costs less than a single ticket. When using a multiticket, the discount varies form 10 to 45 percent. Age limits of different discount groups vary from city to city. Some cities determine discount groups purely according to the age of the passenger, while other cities also include socioeconomic factors in their discount policies. The table presented above included the basic data of the studied cities, the most

13 15 central discount group policies as well as the single and season ticket prices of the shortest and the longest connections. Several cities do not offer actual pensioner tickets, but only senior tickets that are agebound. Gender is usually not a factor affecting the discount policy, but in Vienna 60 year old women are entitled to senior tickets whereas men have to be at least 65. Senior and pensioner ticket discount percentages vary from 25 to 50. The maximum and minimum age limits of the children's ticket vary from city to city. The minimum age limit is 47 years and maximum 1119 years. Children are allowed to travel free of charge in some cities, if they are accompanied by an adult who has a valid ticket. The price of the children's ticket is circa half of the normal ticket price in most cities. In a couple of cities (including Stockholm), the pupils are offered a specific ticket, that is only valid during the school hours. The ticket is not valid when travelling with public transport during the evenings, although it is possible to add this feature to the ticket. A student ticket is not in use in all the studied cities. If a student ticket is on offer, generally the right to use such ticket ends at the latest when the ticket holder turns 26. Student and junior ticket discount percentages vary from 15 to 50. In some cities the student tickets are only valid during the semester. Pensioners or seniors are offered discount tickets only in some cities. The minimum age limit is 6065 years and the discount is 2050 %. In England (London and Manchester) the 60 year olds and older can travel free of charge during off peak periods. In many cities transporting bicycles and big dogs entails the purchase of a separate children's ticket. 1.6 Special Features There may be an additional card charge for travel cards, as in the Helsinki area at the present. Alternatively some cities charge a refundable deposit for the card (London) or both the additional charge and the refundable deposit (Singapore). In the Check in check out system the deposit or the high additional card charge aim to eliminate situations, where the passenger could end up owing money to the system by travelling further than the value loaded to the card would expect. When considering good ways to affect the transportation choices of the people with the ticketing system of the public transport, the Zürich model seems a good idea. There one can choose to add a carsharing system feature to the personal oneyear pass The yearly additional charge is 25 francs ( 15,85) and by paying this fee, the pass holder gets the right to use the 1850 carshare cars located in different parts of Switzerland. Another point that came up in the interviews was connecting of the ticketing and fare system with the possible peak period charge. If a motorist could pay the possible peak period charge with the same ticket as the public transport, it would maybe make the use of the public transport more tempting, even occasionally. Ticketing system and ticket products can be linked with events that entail longer journeys. This has been done, for example, in Stuttgart, which has cooperated fruitfully with the actors producing cultural events. Stuttgart has offered so called combination tickets, which entitle the ticket holders to use the public transport and to participate in different events. 1.7 BEST Comparisons: Does the Ticket Value Correspond to Its Price? From the point of view of the passenger satisfaction, loyalty and the modal share of the public transport, it is essential whether the passengers feel they get enough in return for the price they pay for the ticket. This same question was posed also in the international BEST project which was launched in By applying the benchmarking process its goal is to make people more satisfied with the public transport services of their respective area and thus to increase the use of public transport. A question was asked in the same point regarding "value correspondence"; are the ticket prices at an acceptable level?

14 16 According to the most recent inquiry in 2005, of the studied cities, the public transport of Prague offers most value for money. Of the cities investigated in this study comparing the fare and ticketing systems, the ticket prices and the available public transport correspond to each other best in Helsinki and Vienna. Satisfaction rate is on the rise in Copenhagen and Oslo whereas it is declining in Barcelona. The statistics of Stockholm reflect the current situation poorly, because it has recently transferred to a flat fare system covering the whole city. Image 3 The results of the BEST study during regarding satisfaction with the ability of the public transport to offer value for money ( For Barcelona the declining trend of the satisfied passengers was surprising bearing in mind that in connection with the renewal of the ticketing system in 2001 the ticket prices even dropped. At the same time travelling became more flexible, because of the common ticket products. 1.8 Conclusions Based on the interviews conducted in the study it is safe to say that the fare and ticketing system should be, at least regarding the manner of determining the price of the journey, as simple as possible. Although different variations might make it possible for the passengers to make very affordable journeys, they do not serve their purpose, if realizing the various possibilities is too complicated. The experiences of several of the studied cities suggest that in the Helsinki and YTV areas it is wise to stick with the present type of ticketing system, which is independent from the transport type. It is of course feasible to consider offering also transport type specific single tickets, which do not entitle transfers, for base journeys with the Tram or the Underground. The passengers best understand and know how to use ticketing systems, which are as unified as possible and cover different transport types. Even though the small amount of ticket types makes management of the ticketing system easier, it is still wise to consider critically and creatively whether there is a need to offer certain special tickets. So that the public transport would also serve the occasional needs, the Metropolitan area should consider developing, for example, a group ticket product. Thus the occasional large groups might choose public transport over, for example, taxi. Four of the studied cities offer, alongside with the normal ticket products, more affordable season tickets, which are not valid during the morning peak period. In Gothenburg the more affordable off peak ticket is not valid during the afternoon return traffic either. The advantage of the timebound special tickets might be that they could attract new regular passengers to use the public transport, but the drawback would be the increase of different ticket types. In any case the more affordable off peak ticket

15 17 products have turned out to be functioning solutions in Zürich, Stuttgart and Gothenburg. Also Singapore sells season tickets which are valid at off peak periods. The common ticketing system may be used in very broad areas. Cooperation between Copenhagen and Malmö proves that multinational ticketing systems are both feasible and functioning. As to the use of travel cards, the cities are at different stages. Some cities do not offer electronic travel cards at all. In other cities the electronic travel card has functioned primarily as an electronic wallet (Amsterdam). Some cities are about to introduce only their first fare based travel cards (Oslo), while others (E.G. Copenhagen) are reforming both their fare and travel card systems at the same time and introducing the second generation electronic travel card. The first travel card in Copenhagen did not include many intelligent features. Its main function was to express its validity period and it was offered as one ticket product alongside with others. It seems that particularly the broader unified fare and ticketing areas are considering transferring from the zone system to a distance based fare system, where the price is determined based on distances. This is why, for example, the check in check out system (used in e.g. London and Singapore), where the journeys are charged automatically based on the travelling distance, seems to be an excellent technical solution serving the interest of both the passengers and the service providers of the public transport. Also this option offers the possibility to maintain one flat fare in the central city and to shift into the travelling distance based charging outside the city (Gothenburg is planning this kind of a reform). Open cooperation between the companies providing carsharing services and the event organizers regularly arranging events that require transport services is a good way to offer public transport services to new users. Discount policies are miscellaneous. By far the most common criterion of discount groups is age.

16 18 2 Definitions of the Used Terms 2.1 Basic Charge Unit In many cities the cost of a journey is based on, for example, the amount of fare system zones crossed. In this system as well as in fare systems based on staggered distance based charges, the tickets often include certain amount of basic charge units. When using multitickets, the passenger validates certain amount of basic charge units based on where he or she is going. In some cities these basic charge units are called vouchers, other cities define how many times the ticket must be validated or how many holes must be punched to the multiticket for each journey. Respectively, when shifting into the electronic travel cards it is possible to load either seasons, value or basic charge units (which in practice is another definition of value) to the card. So as to make the different charge units of the single and multitickets of the different cities as unified as possible, this study uses the general term "basic charge unit" signifying them all. So, a journey costs "three basic charge units", or, "for each crossed zone border, the passenger must pay one basic charge unit more". 2.2 Check in check out Check in check out (or be in be out) system is usually based on a value card and a single ticket based fare system, in which the passenger pays at least a specific nominal fee for each journey. This ensures that the passenger has the motif to validate the ticket always when boarding or exiting the vehicle. The journeys are charged based on either charge zones or travelled distance. The basic idea of the Check in check out system is as follows: The passenger shows the travel card to the card reader device in the beginning of the journey and the device charges a predetermined sum. In the end of the journey the card is shown to the device again and the device credits the difference between the reserved sum and the actual charge of the journey. The travel chain may include travelling by different public transport types. Charges are based on either the distance between the boarding stop and the destination stop (as the crow flies) or charge zones. Different types of discounts may be included into the system, as bonuses and benefits for regular customers.

17 19 3 Amsterdam Number of inhabitants: city 743,000 metropolitan area 1,529,000 Surface area and population density: city 166 km 2 (= mile 2 ), 4,467 inhabitants/km 2 (= mile 2 ) metropolitan area 942 km 2 (= mile 2 ), 1,624 inhabitants/km 2 (= mile 2 ) 3.1 General The public transport available in Amsterdam includes the Underground, local trains, trams, busses and ferryboat services, naturally. ROA (Regional Organ Amsterdam) is a regional government for the municipalities in the Amsterdam region, which designs, builds and funds the road and public transport infrastructure of Amsterdam. ROA also provides the public transport services of Amsterdam. It brings together 16 municipalities and aims to enhance their cooperation in different environmental and trafficrelated issues. The role of ROA in providing public transport is not visible for ordinary passengers. The public transport services of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam are provided by GVB, a company founded already in In addition to Amsterdam, it provides public transport services in some of the neighbouring municipalities. The public transport services produced by GVB are integrated into the services of Dutch Railway as closely as possible. For now, GVB maintains also the ticketing system of the Amsterdam area. The tariff policy of the public transport will be transferred under the authority of ROA during the year of This chapter mainly deals with the ticketing system maintained by GVB. At present the operative costs of the public transport services of Amsterdam are 143 million Euro per year. If the necessary investments are also included, the annual costs rise to 231 million Euro. However, this sum does not include major investments in infrastructure, like building of the new SouthNorthbound underground line, renewing of the transportation stock or opening of new stations. 3.2 Fare System Holland uses a national ticketing system, the so called National Strippen Kaarten. Passengers can use its ticket products in the public transport of Amsterdam, Rotterdam as well as other Dutch cities. The same tickets are valid in all cities irrespective of the place of purchase. The fare system of Amsterdam and Holland is based on zone division. In certain cases railway traffic is included into the unified fare and ticketing system, but chiefly it only includes buses, the Underground and the tramway traffic. When a passenger buys or uses a multiticket, he or she has to inform how many zones the journey will cross. This defines how many "strips" of the multiticket need be validated or how much a single ticket will cost. The price comprises of the amount of the crossed zones +1, meaning that a basic fare worth one basic charge unit will always be added to the price. The most inexpensive journey costs two basic charge units.

18 20 Image 4 The journey passes through seven charge zones in total. Thus the price of the journey is eight (1+7) strips. Image: The image below presents the zone division of Amsterdam. Also the severalday GVB tickets are valid. Image 5 The current zone structure of Amsterdam ( The zone system used in Amsterdam at the present resembles option three (so called personal home zone) presented in the study "Alternative fare and ticketing systems for the Helsinki Metropolitan Area 2014 Preliminary study". There is one significant difference though, namely pricing of the option 3 of the YTV study is distance based without any zone borders. The Amsterdam system promotes travelling inside the passengers own (preselected) home zone (season ticket products). The passenger buys the needed amount of nested zone rings around this home zone. The centre point of the zone map can be anywhere the passenger wants it to be. 3.3 Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets In Amsterdam the paper single tickets are sold for either one or two zones. A threezone journey requires the purchase of both one and twozone ticket.

19 21 Multitickets are paper tickets including 8, 15 or 45 basic charge units, "strips". The ticket is to be validated in the beginning of the journey either by the driver or in the automatic device. At its most a journey paid with a multiticket including 45 basic charge units is almost 45 % cheaper than the same journey paid with a single ticket. Separate tickets are used in the night services. There are single tickets as well as 12journey multitickets (one journey about 30 % cheaper than with single ticket) for the night service One or Several Day Passes 24, 48 or 72hour passes are available. Passes are paper tickets. They are to be validated in the beginning of the first journey, after which they are valid throughout the GVB service area for the period marked in the ticket. An eight basic charge unit multiticket functions also as a oneday pass. When an 8basic charge unit ticket has 8 boarding stamps for the same day, the ticket is valid for the rest of the day free of charge. Paid with an 8basic charge unit ticket the price of one day is 10 cents more expensive than paid with the actual 24hour pass ( 6.30 vs. 6.40) Season Tickets Season tickets are valid for either 7 or 30 days or 12 months (oneyear pass). The price is determined based on the so called star value, i.e. how many zone rings the ticket entitles to cross. The oneyear pass costs approximately as much as ten 30day passes. The first zone ring comprises of the immediate neighbouring zones of the base zone, the other comprises of the immediate neighbours of the previously mentioned and so on. Example: A passenger travels primarily from zone 7409 to zone The passenger's route follows the blue break line across five different zones in total. The passenger chooses zone 7406 as his base zone and adds one zone ring to it. Because all the zones the route passes are immediate neighbours of the base zone, the passenger only needs a "twostar" ticket i.e. "base zone + one zone ring". Image 6 The example case requires a twostar season ticket (base zone + one zone ring) ( All season tickets are personal. Seven and thirtyday season tickets are paper tickets and require a separate personal identification card. The oneyear pass is a plastic card. The passengers personal data is printed on it.

20 Discount Groups and Special Tickets For children (411 years of age) and 65year olds and above are offered cutrate multitickets including 15 basic charge units as well as 24hour passes. Depending on the ticket type, discount is 3035 %. When the passenger pays with the new value based electronic card, he or she is entitled to the corresponding 3035 % discount till the age of 18. Transporting bicycles or big dogs entails the purchase of a discount ticket. Only small dogs and other pets, which fit into portable animal crates, are allowed to travel free of charge. 1025person groups are offered a zonefree group ticket. The ticket is valid for one hour after validation in all the zones of Amsterdam area. The price of the ticket is 1.75 per person (normal one or twozone single ticket 1.60 / 2.40, a threezone journey entails the purchase of both one and twozone single tickets for the price of 4 Euro) Travel Card Amsterdam does not offer a modern travel card at the moment. Certain ticket products have introduced the new electronic value card. Journeys paid with it are 15 % cheaper than journeys paid with basic charge units of the multiticket. 3.4 New Development Projects Amsterdam and the entire Holland are transitioning from the national fare system to a new smart card based regional fare system. However, the travel card system is national. At the same time the intention is to shift from the tickets bought in advance to the so called electronic wallet (cf. value card), as well as to shift to the distance based pricing and abandon the zone system. Simultaneously a valid ticket will be required already in the quay area of trains and the Underground. The intention is that the new electronic travel card will be the only ticket type starting from January Other current topics and goals to be considered in connection with the fare and ticketing systems include: How to reduce the amount of the people travelling without paying (automatic video surveillance, for example) How clearing could be made fairer and faster In long term more possibilities to load tickets / purchase travel right also at home (using, for example, a computer) More possibilities for the operators and the authorities to use regional pricing More knowledge of the travelling behaviour of the passengers attempts should be made to direct the public transport services and the available resources so that they would meet the demand better Versatility of the ticket: the same ticket base should function in all public transport including trains Social safety and other security requirements

21 Interview The following estimates of the fare and ticketing system were made by Ruud van der Ploeg (Senior Beleidsmedewerker Openbaar Vervoer, ROA). + + Pros and cons from the point of view of the customer and usability The whole country has a unified fare and ticketing system (in certain cases also railway traffic is included, but mainly it only includes bus, underground and tramway traffic). Ticket selection is unified and limited everywhere (clear). There are ticket offices everywhere in the country. The same tickets are valid in all cities irrespective of the place of purchase. The zone system and the "strippenkaart" system (a card including a specific amount of basic charge units that are equal in value) attached to it are very difficult to comprehend. Difficulties in comparing the price of a single journey are especially visible in ticket products that need to be bought in advance. Logic with which the price is determined is not simple the price does not always correspond to the travelling distance. The amount of the basic charge units to be validated and the price of the journey are based on crossed zone borders: the price is always the amount of the zones crossed during the journey +1. The ticketing system of the regional trains is not integrated into the national system. When travelling by train, the price is determined based on the actual distances. The system does not offer a chance to reward the regular users of the public transport by offering them special prices. + Pros and cons from the economical point of view of the public transport The cashflow generated by the tickets that need to be bought in advance is advanceoriented, meaning that the passengers pay before using the service. No equal unified system for sharing the ticket proceeds between different operators. Uncertainty factors, which make it difficult to estimate the proceeds from the ticket sales of a new route or route network. It is especially difficult to estimate the proportion of a completely new route from the total proceeds from the ticket sales. Complex proceed sharing and foreseeability. The reason is indirect expense items determined only afterwards. The diverse locally changing prices do not have a clear effect on the service level and service periods at the micro level. + Pros and cons from the point of view of the modal share and travelling behaviour Ticket products are valid in different types of public transport and between different operators. The ticket products do not include specific discount groups, which would be offered to the passengers according to their age, for example.

22 24 4 Barcelona Number of inhabitants: city 1,500,000 metropolitan area Surface area and population density: city 99 km 2 (= mile 2 ), 15,225 inhabitants/km 2 (= mile 2 ) metropolitan area 4.1 General The public transport modes used in Barcelona are the Underground, the local train, the tramline, and busses. Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM) is responsible for arranging the public transport services of the city. Five main operators, some of which specialize in a specific public transport mode, are responsible for providing public transport services. The most visible operator in Barcelona is Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), which operates the Underground, busses and trams. Other transport modes include the private railway lines of the FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya) and the local train traffic of the Renfe. The public transport services belonging to the integrated fare and ticketing system maintained by the ATM cover 18 municipalities in total. In 2004 a 42 per cent share of the production of the public transport services of the whole metropolitan area was covered with the ticket proceeds ( 343 million). The remaining 480 million were granted as public transport subsidy. Four administrative actors paid subsidy, and their shares from the total subsidy were: Estado (AGE) 32 %, Generalitat de Catalunya 41 %, EMT 13 % and Ajutament de Barcelona 14 %. 4.2 Fare System The ticketing system of Barcelona is common for all public transport modes. In addition, the same tickets are valid in some services of the heavy railway passenger traffic. Single tickets do not belong to the unified ticketing system. Ticket selection is diverse. In addition to the integrated ticketing system, the different transport modes offer also their own ticket products. However, 85 % of all the sold tickets are integrated multitickets or season tickets entitling to transferable journeys. Single tickets (no transfer right) are used by extremely occasional passengers only. There are some operatorspecific tickets as, for example, the TC ticket offered by the TMB for motorists. It is valid for one day and entitles to unlimited number of public transport journeys operated by the TMB. The ticket can be purchased when parking in specific park and ride car parks. Fare system is based on zone division.

23 25 Image 7 The zone system of Barcelona ( Image 8 The zone system of Barcelona presented by geographical boundaries (

24 Tickets and Payment for Journeys Single, Value and Multitickets All single tickets are journey and transport mode specific and do not entitle to using several public transport modes during the same journey. Tickets do not include transfer right, either. 10journey multiticket entitles to making journeys with transfer right within the validity area of the ticket (when purchasing, the passenger has to choose in which zones the ticket is valid). 50 journeys within 30 days is an integrated ticket holder specific ticket. The passenger cannot pay for the journeys of several persons with it. The sixzone 50journey ticket is about 12 % cheaper than the corresponding unlimited 30day ticket. 70 journeys within 30 days is an integrated ticket, the so called family ticket, with which the passenger can pay for the journeys of several persons. The sixzone ticket costs about 12 % more than the corresponding 50journey ticket meant for the use of one person. Transfer right of the tickets varies from the 75 minutes of the onezone journey to the 150 minutes of the sixzone journey One or Several Day Passes Oneday pass entitles to unlimited amount of journeys within the validity area of the ticket during a service day Season Tickets 30day pass entitles to unlimited amount of journeys within the validity area of the ticket during a 30day period. The ticket is personal. 90day pass entitles to unlimited amount of journeys within the validity area of the ticket during a 90day period. The ticket is personal and can be personified by attaching a personal pass including the personal data of the ticket holder in it Discount Groups and Special Tickets 4 year old children or older need a regular adult ticket. There are no separate children's tickets. A personal 90day pass is sold to under 21year olds. Purchased for 6 zones it is 15 % cheaper than the adult ticket. Students can buy this ticket till they turn Travel Card Barcelona does not offer modern electronic travel cards at the moment. 4.4 Recent Reforms The new fare and ticketing system introduced in Barcelona in 2001 is one of city s most important public transport improvements in recent years. From the passenger viewpoint clear advantages of the integrated tickets include the clearly lower base price and the opportunity to transfer connections without additional charges. Before this reform only such tickets were sold that were valid only in that particular transport vehicle. The most popular ticket product has been the T10 card, i.e. a 10journey multiticket. You can make 4 transfers at most during each journey within one hour from validation of the ticket. Other significant