The proposed transportation network described on this website requires a fare control regime that encourages ridership.
While I am a fan of fare free transit, this would most likely only be made possible through a high level of taxation. This would unfairly subsidize suburban living by placing the cost basis exclusively on city residents. This could be partially corrected by user fees at the inter-modal parking facilities, by providing discounts there to vehicles registered in the city and drivers with licenses bearing a city address.
What I do propose is fare system that includes a per trip fee, along with spending caps on a rolling 7, 30, and 365 day basis.
For example, if the base fare is $2, the daily limit is $6 (3 times the base fare), the 7 day rate is $20 (10 times the base fare), the 30 day rate is $60 (30 times the base fare), and the annual rate is $500 (250 times the base fare.)
At each swipe the system will look back to see if a spending cap has been met and if it has, no fare will be assessed.
Passenger A commutes 5 days per week by train, after 5 days he will have met the weekly cap. When he accesses the transit system on the weekend he will not be charged. On Monday, he is charged when he goes to work but after he gets home he takes the train to go shopping, he will not be charged because the 7 day rolling total has been met. After three weeks of similar usage the “monthly” (30 day rolling) limit will have been met and fees will be assessed until the system looks back and sees less than $60 spent in the preceding 30 days.
A similar formula would be used for fares on regional rail, extended to account for trips to different zones. For example, consider a rider that has hit the weekly fare cap commuting to work from the fare zone in his town. On Saturday, they travel to center city to do some shopping during the day, before taking regional rail to meet a friend in a further suburb a more expensive fare zone from that in which they live. This rider will be charged only the difference in fare between a ride to their home zone to their friend’s zone.
This system removes the complexity and stress of budgeting from the rider and assured that they are always paying the lowest rate possible, and reduces the access disadvantage to those lacking the means or foresight to prepay.