PRTC Challenges, Opportunities, and Experience with a Regional Fare Collection System

Made up of six member jurisdictions – Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania Counties, Cities of Manassas, Manassas Park, and Fredericksburg One of two governing bodies for Virginia Railway Express Provides Transportation Demand Management services (ridematching, Employer Outreach) for Prince William County Cities of Manassas, Manassas Park Other mobility programs – travel training and Wheels-to-Wellness voucher program OmniRide and OmniLink bus services covering three bus sponsoring jurisdictions - Prince William County Cities of Manassas, Manassas Park

OmniRide Commuter service between Prince William County and Washington, DC, Arlington, Tysons Corner on 12 routes Metro Direct service feeds Franconia-Springfield and Tysons Corner Metrorail stations on 3 routes Cross County Connector service between Woodbridge and Manassas 102 vehicles in service at peak 9,000 Daily Average Unlinked Passenger Trips

OmniLink Local flex route service on 6 routes service Prince William County Cities of Manassas, Manassas Park 18 vehicles in service at peak 3,800 Daily Average Unlinked Passenger Trips

Prior to SmarTrip implementation (2007) Part of multi-agency regional transfer agreement Paper media used for transfers and passes Tokens used to provide multi-trip discount Commuter trips featured “conductors” selling tokens on-board Fare media sales on other services by bus operators Ridership counts provided by bus operators Transportation fringe benefit distributed as Metrocheks

Post SmarTrip Implementation Paper passes and transfers eliminated Fare discounts for using SmarTrip Fare media and fare product sales through retail outlets, website (automated value loading), and bus farebox Automated ridership and revenue reporting Transportation fringe benefit distributed as SmartBenefits via automated value loading

Benefits for PRTC’s Riders Convenience – no need to carry exact change or keep paper media (transfers/day passes) Exact fare always paid – any remaining value is available for the next trip Increased surety of fare policy application Multiple ways to add value

Benefits for PRTC Reduced costs for cash/token handling, and printing and maintaining paper media Reduced burden for operators Reduced potential for fare disputes Improved data available for analysis of ridership trends and patterns

Advantages of a Regional Fare Collection Program Real travel patterns are not confined by jurisdictional boundaries Expansion of ridership potential beyond an agency’s immediate service area Regional fare/transfer programs break down perceived barriers to travel by creating the impression of a more seamless rider experience Costs for implementation, system maintenance, marketing, and customer service can be spread across multiple agencies

Challenges Funding for implementation – capital costs Training for operators, mechanics, dispatchers, supervisors Training for riders, general public Changes to revenue handling processes

Policy Considerations Commonalities with other regional agencies – what unique characteristics need to be considered What new products will the new technology allow What incentives are needed to encourage card use

Lessons learned Build knowledge redundancies – create experts maintenance/technology, finance, policy, and operations but knowledge should be shared Produce procedural documents – operational, revenue handling, trouble shooting Define populations in need of special considerations and apply incentives appropriately Understand the limits of the technology Plan to take advantage of reporting capabilities