Big Blue Bus Fare Policy
Department of Transportation
City Council Meeting - April 12, 2022
Summary
• Big Blue Bus is recommending changes to its fare policy • Changes include free BBB to BBB transfers, new fare
products, & elimination of certain fare media
• New fare policy officially concludes the Contactless Fare Pilot
• Contactless Fares are fares that are paid without making physical contact with equipment on the bus (i.e., TAP & Mobile Ticket) • Recommend acceptance of cash fares on board be
reinstated
2 Background
• BBB customers have been using one of four fare
media:
• Cash (coins, bills, & tokens)
• Paper Passes
• TAP Cards
• Mobile (phone) tickets
• In March 2020, BBB suspended fare collection, &
resumed fare collection in February 2021
• In July 2021, BBB launched a Contactless Fare Pilot to measure the costs & benefits of a contactless fare
system
3 Discussion
• The goals of the proposed changes are to:
• Lower fares to increase ridership
• Align fare products with customer preferences
• Simplify fare structure
• Maintain customer safety
• Improve route on-time performance
• Public hearing on the proposed changes was held on 2/10/22 • Survey soliciting feedback had 700+ respondents
4 Proposed Changes presented at Public Hearing
5 Original Proposed Changes
Provide free BBB to BBB transfers within 2 hours
Reduce Single Ride Regular contactless fare from $1.10 to $1.00 No longer accept cash on board
No longer accept paper passes or tokens on board
Discontinue selling 1-Day, 7-Day, & Annual Passes
Replace 13-Ride Passes with 10-Ride Passes (Reg & SDM)
Reduce price of 30-Day Pass (Reg & SDM)
Reduce price of Youth 30-Day Pass to $19 (current Council approved promotional price) Accept Metro 1-Day passes (Reg & SDM)
Free rides for children 5 & under (currently 4 & under) Staff Recommendations to Council
6 Original Proposed
Changes Recommendation Reason for Recommendation
Provide free BBB to BBB
transfers within 2 hours
Yes Favorable public response &
impacts more than 62% of riders
Reduce Single Ride Regular
contactless fare from $1.10
to $1.00
No Not financially feasible given
recommendation to resume cash
collection
No longer accept cash on
board
No Results in resumption of cash
collection on board. Unfavorable
public response to not accepting
cash. Unbanked customers visited
TAP retail locations & reported
sometimes significant
inconvenience
7 Original Proposed
Changes Recommendation Reason for Recommendation
No longer accept paper
passes or tokens on board
Yes Favorable public response,
reduces waste, increases travel
speed & efficiency, lowers cost of
fare collection
Discontinue selling 1-Day, 7-
Day, & Annual Passes
No Mixed public response, with some
customers earnestly requesting
pass retention
Replace 13-Ride Passes with
10-Ride Passes (Reg & SDM)
Yes Favorable public response, lower
price encourages use of
contactless fare
Reduce price of 30-Day Pass
(Reg & SDM)
No Not financially feasible given
recommendation to resume cash
collection
Staff Recommendations to Council, cont.
Staff Recommendations to Council, cont.
8 Original Proposed
Changes Recommendation Reason for Recommendation
Reduce price of Youth 30-
Day Pass to $19 (current
Council approved promotional
price)
Yes Favorable public response, makes
current condition permanent
Accept Metro 1-Day passes
(Reg & SDM)
Yes Favorable public response, solves
confusion amongst tourists
purchasing passes at stations
Free rides for children 5 &
under (currently 4 & under)
Yes Favorable public response, closes
age gap between small child free
ride & Metro Go Pass K-12 free rides
Summary of Staff Recommendations
9 Original Proposed Changes Recommended?
Provide free BBB to BBB transfers within 2 hours Yes
Reduce Single Ride Regular contactless fare from $1.10 to $1.00 No No longer accept cash on board No
No longer accept paper passes or tokens on board Yes
Discontinue selling 1-Day, 7-Day, & Annual Passes No
Replace 13-Ride Passes with 10-Ride Passes (Reg & SDM) Yes Reduce price of 30-Day Pass (Reg & SDM) No
Reduce price of Youth 30-Day Pass to $19
(current Council approved promotional price)
Yes
Accept Metro 1-Day passes (Reg & SDM) Yes
Free rides for children 5 & under (currently 4 & under) Yes Staff Recommended Fare Table
10 Ride/Pass Type Regular Senior, Disabled &
Medicare (SDM)
Youth
Single Ride cash $1.25 $0.50
Single Ride contactless* $1.10 $0.50
1-Day $4 $1.50
7-Day $14 -
10-Ride* $9 $4.50
30-Day $50 $24 $19
Annual Pass $500 -
*Single Ride contactless & 10-Ride passes include a free BBB to BBB transfer within 2 hours - Children 5 & under ride free
- Courtesy rides offered to customers who don’t have appropriate fare Additional Proposed Policy Changes
The following fare related policy changes were presented at the Feb 2022 Public Hearing & are recommended for Council approval:
• Make BBB passes available at more locations by paying 3.75% commission to TAP retailers on BBB passes
• Pursue solutions that allow more customers access to
contactless fare advantages (machines or technologies)
• Create a program to identify & address the transit fare needs of vulnerable populations
11 Increasing Access to Contactless Fares
• Maintain searchable map of TAP sales locations
• Expand the network of TAP sales locations
• Program to identify/address fare needs of vulnerable populations • Promote reduced fare TAP options (such as LIFE)
• Be a leader in regional reduced fare programs
• Add wi-fi on all new buses for mobile ticket users
• Explore additional contactless fare technologies & policies 12 Summary of Contactless Fares Pilot
• Initiated to test whether Contactless Fare Systems could make riding BBB safer & faster • Level of Adoption - 94% of customers used TAP cards or mobile tickets during the pilot (6% didn’t have the fare)
• Introduced customers to reduced fares - TAP adoption (85% of rides) introduced former cash customers to regional reduced fare programs • Faster boarding – Cash customers converted to contactless have the potential to save 15,000 hours of travel time annually
• Clarified Accessibility Gaps - TAP sales network is insufficient for convenient access for all unbanked customers
• Conclusion – Fully Contactless Fare Systems provide benefits worthy of continued exploration. They also require sufficient fare product access that all customers can conveniently buy fares.
13 Projected Ridership & Revenue Impacts
• Increase of 150,000 customers annually, mostly resulting from free BBB to BBB transfers, & lower fares
• Reduce fare revenue of $431,000 in FY 2022-23.
• Reduced fare revenue will be offset by one-time federal funding received from the Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRSSAA).
• Beyond FY 2022-23, the operating subsidy the department receives through Metro is projected to increase as the funding allocation is partly reliant on ridership.
14 Findings of Title VI Fare Equity Analysis
• Most of the proposed changes involved lowering fares
• No proposed change results in a negative disproportionate burden on low-income populations
• No proposed change results in a negative disparate impact on minority populations
• The elimination of the 13-Ride Pass would have constituted a negative disparate impact, if not for the new 10-Ride Pass serving as a mitigation.
15 Proposed Timeline (pending Council approval)
February 10, 2022 Public Hearing
February 17, 2022 Close Public Comment Period
April 12, 2022 Present Fare Proposal to Council & Request Approval of New Fare Proposal
June 22, 2022 Implement Council Direction
16 Recommended Action
• Staff recommends that the City Council approve the proposed changes to the fare policy for Big Blue Bus, Department of Transportation.
17