Comparison of Reduced-Fare Programs for Low-Income Transit Riders

Means-based reduced-fare programs can help address transit rider fare equity. The objective of this study is to synthesize the current state of reduced-fare programs for low-income transit riders. The reduced-fare programs of the 50 largest transit agencies in the United States were examined and agencies with programs for low-income riders were compared based on three dimensions: eligibility and enrollment, fare media and discount pricing, and estimated transit expenditure by eligible riders. The results reveal that 17 of the 50 largest transit agencies have low-income reduced-fare programs. Of these, 14 agencies administer the programs themselves, while three use partnerships with social service organizations to administer them. Additionally, nine of the 14 agencies that administer their own programs provide a 50% discount on fares and require participants to have an income at or below 125% to 200% of the federal poverty level for eligibility. Using a method developed to evaluate the “fare burden” of transit riders with different income levels, it was determined that low-income reduced-fare program participants at the income eligibility threshold typically spend an estimated 2% to 6% of their annual income on transit, although very-low-income people may need to spend much higher shares of their incomes on transit fares. These results indicate that agencies may need to reevaluate the structure of their existing low-income reduced-fare programs and implement tiers of discounts to ensure that fare equity is being extended to all riders.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981211017900
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03611981
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Wesley Darling https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6757-9983 © National Academy of Sciences: Transportation Research Board 2021.
• Authors:
  • Darling, Wesley
  • 0000-0001-6757-9983
  • Carpenter, Emily
  • Johnson-Praino, Tami
  • 0000-0001-5245-5689
  • Brakewood, Candace
  • 0000-0003-2769-7808
  • Voulgaris, Carole Turley
  • 0000-0003-0556-924X
• Publication Date: 2021-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 335-349
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Volume: 2675
  • Issue Number: 7
  • Publisher: Sage Publications, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0361-1981
  • EISSN: 2169-4052
  • Serial URL: http://journals.sagepub.com/home/trr

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Discount fares; Equity; Low income groups; State of the practice; Subsidies; Transit riders
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01763980
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: TRBAM-21-00400
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 4 2021 10:57AM