Whoaccio
Senior Member
Just to be clear on what I am proposing. The best fare system would be one that represents the cost to add an additional passenger-trip. This would represent specific time demand (congestion pricing), mode demanded and distance demanded. Peak usage should logically cost more than off peak usage, longer trips should logically cost more than shorter trips and trips on modes that are, for whatever reason, more expensive should cost more than trips on modes that are cheaper. Frankly none of these strikes me as odd or somehow unprecedented given that they are ubiquitous in so many areas of life (variable electrical rates, higher gas prices before long weekends, more expensive hotels during March Break, meals costing more on Saturday night than Tuesday lunch and so forth).
If a line is at capacity, then the cost of adding an additional passenger-trip (all things being equal) is the cost of adding more capacity. Looking at the Yonge line specifically, peak direction travel during peak hours between Bloor and Union is the primary concern. As I see it, there are three possible solutions. The first would be to simply add more capacity. Current demand for this stretch is about 30k pphpd. If all upgrades can increase this number to 40k, we would add a theoretical 10k pphpd which we could otherwise not accommodate. Given two hours of peak travel during two peak travel periods (AM & PM), that gives us about 40k passenger trips which could otherwise not be accommodated. Station expansion, upgraded signaling and larger subway cars would put a price tag on this of over a billion dollars for what would be fairly minimal gains.
The second option would be to do nothing. I don't think anyone here sees this as a good option. Fair enough?
The third option would be to raise prices on that trip so as to keep demand at a level the system can accommodate. This would benefit us in a number of ways. First, the TTC would get more money from higher fares. That money would get relocated into routes that have more potential for expansion thereby benefiting more people than either of the previous two options. Second, it would improve the competitiveness of alternative routes. Currently, the Downtown Express buses are totally impractical when compared to the Yonge line. By raising the cost of peak travel on Yonge, alternatives like the Downtown Express buses as well as commuter buses from the suburbs would become more viable. In future, a DRL like line (preferably reaching to Eglinton) could also potentially benefit from such a regime as it would be relatively more affordable. On the capital side, moneys could be redeployed from expansion along Yonge towards other projects.
Pricing for distance seems fairly uncontroversial here, so I won't dwell on it. Suffice to say it makes little sense that someone taking a streetcar from Kensington Market to the waterfront should pay the same as someone commuting in from the boonies.
If a line is at capacity, then the cost of adding an additional passenger-trip (all things being equal) is the cost of adding more capacity. Looking at the Yonge line specifically, peak direction travel during peak hours between Bloor and Union is the primary concern. As I see it, there are three possible solutions. The first would be to simply add more capacity. Current demand for this stretch is about 30k pphpd. If all upgrades can increase this number to 40k, we would add a theoretical 10k pphpd which we could otherwise not accommodate. Given two hours of peak travel during two peak travel periods (AM & PM), that gives us about 40k passenger trips which could otherwise not be accommodated. Station expansion, upgraded signaling and larger subway cars would put a price tag on this of over a billion dollars for what would be fairly minimal gains.
The second option would be to do nothing. I don't think anyone here sees this as a good option. Fair enough?
The third option would be to raise prices on that trip so as to keep demand at a level the system can accommodate. This would benefit us in a number of ways. First, the TTC would get more money from higher fares. That money would get relocated into routes that have more potential for expansion thereby benefiting more people than either of the previous two options. Second, it would improve the competitiveness of alternative routes. Currently, the Downtown Express buses are totally impractical when compared to the Yonge line. By raising the cost of peak travel on Yonge, alternatives like the Downtown Express buses as well as commuter buses from the suburbs would become more viable. In future, a DRL like line (preferably reaching to Eglinton) could also potentially benefit from such a regime as it would be relatively more affordable. On the capital side, moneys could be redeployed from expansion along Yonge towards other projects.
Pricing for distance seems fairly uncontroversial here, so I won't dwell on it. Suffice to say it makes little sense that someone taking a streetcar from Kensington Market to the waterfront should pay the same as someone commuting in from the boonies.