1. FARE ANALYSIS UPDATE
DECEMBER 2017

2. Presentation Contents1.
Existing Fare Structure Fare Model Fare Structure Opportunities and Alternatives 2. 3.

3. EXISTING FARE STRUCTURE

4. GMT Fare Structure Non-Discounted Adult Fares Single-Fare 10-Ride Pass
Monthly Pass
Chittenden County
$1.25
$2.00
$12.00
$20.00
$50.00
$75.00
Franklin/Grand Isle
$0.50
$1.00
$0.50
$4.50
$8.00
$16.50
$33.50
Mad River Valley
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Lamoille County
$1.00
$2.00
$9.00
$16.00
$33.00
$67.00
Capital District
$1.00
$2.00
$1.00
$9.00
$16.00
$33.00
$67.00
Local Routes
Commuter Routes
Commuter Routes only within towns

5. GMT Fare Structure Discounted Fares Single-Fare 10-Ride Pass
Monthly Pass
Chittenden County
$0.60
n/a
$6.00
n/a
$25.00
n/a
Franklin/Grand Isle
$0.25
$0.50
$0.25
$2.25
n/a
$8.25
n/a
Mad River Valley
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Lamoille County
$0.50
$1.00
$4.50
n/a
$15.00
n/a
Capital District
$0.50
$1.00
$0.50
$4.50
n/a
$15.00
n/a
Local Routes
Commuter Routes
Commuter Routes only within towns

6. GMT Fare Structure New England Peer Comparison Local Service
Express Service
Green Mountain Transit
$ $1.25
$ $0.60
$ $4.00
$ $2.00
Brunswick Explorer, ME
$1.00
$0.60 -- --
Portland Metro, ME
$1.50
$0.75
$3.00
$1.50
TriCounty Transit, NH
$ $3.00
$ $1.50 -- --
Manchester Transit, NH
$2.00
$1.00
$5.00
$2.50
RIPTA, RI
$2.00
$0.00
$2.00
$0.00
Southeast Area Transit District, CT
$2.00
$1.00 -- --
Adult Single-Ride Cash Fare
Seniors Single-Ride Cash Fare

7. FARE MODEL

8. Fare Model Structure 1. 2. 3. 4. Data Inputs Elasticity Application
Current ridership volumes by route and corresponding non-discounted, single-ride fares were used to determine existing system-wide annual ridership and annual revenue.
Fare Elasticity as it relates to transit demand was applied in two different examples. Example 1 featured low elasticity. Example 2 featured higher elasticity. Elasticity was treated as uniform across service type. 3.
New Fare Structure 4.
Data Outputs
New fares we applied to both model examples in which fares varied by type of service rather than service area. 5 different fare scenarios were tested.
Elasticities were applied across the entire system to each route based on fare and service type. This rendered new ridership for weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. These were summed to reveal new annual ridership and annual revenue.

9. Fare Model Elasticities
Price Sensitivity
Low Elasticity
High Elasticity
Shuttle
-0.20
-0.35
Rural Local
-0.25
-0.40
Urban Local
-0.30
-0.45
Major Local
-0.28
-0.43
Seasonal Local -- --
Commuter
-0.35
-0.50
Express
-0.32
-0.47
Interpreting Elasticities: A 10% increase in Commuter service fare would result in a 3.0% decrease in transit patronage under the Low Elasticity condition and a 4.5% decrease under the High Elasticity condition.

10. Fare Model Scenarios Scenario Elements Urban Local Rural Local
Seasonal
LINK Express
Non-LINK Commuter
Existing
$1.25
$1.00
Free
$4.00
$2.00
Scenario A
$1.00
$1.00
Free
$3.00
$2.00
Scenario B
$1.25
Free
Free
$4.00
$2.00
Scenario C
$1.50
$1.00
Free
$4.00
$2.00
Scenario D
$2.00
$1.50
Free
$4.00
$3.00
Scenario E
TBD
TBD
Free
TBD
TBD

11. Preliminary Results Scenario Existing 3.0 m $3.9 m
Ridership
Revenue
Existing
3.0 m
$3.9 m
Scenario A ($1 local; $2-3 express)
+4 to 7%
-11 to 13%
Scenario B (free rural local)
TBD
-3%
Scenario C ($1.50 urban local)
-4 to 6%
+7 to 9%
Scenario D ($ local; $3-4 express)
-11-15%
+7 to 30%
Scenario E (NE average)
-TBD
TBD

12. Fare Free Scenario
US Cities that Offer Fare-free Service at Least in Part
Measured Results of Going Fare-free
Boone, NC
Cache Valley, UT
Canby, OR
Commerce, CA
Coral Gables, FL
Emeryville, CA
Island County, WA
Ketchum, ID
Lebanon, NH
Corvallis, OR
Macomb, IL
Marion, IN
Missoula, MT
Sandy, OR
Starkville, MS
Vero Beach, FL
Wilsonville, OR
Corvallis, OR saw a 38% increase in ridership within a year of going fare-free
TriMet in Portland, OR saw a 25% increase in peak-period ridership and a 60% increase in off-peak ridership within 34 months of going fare-free*
Seattle, WA’s CBD saw an increase in ridership of 199% during their trial period of fare-free zones throughout their service area.
*TriMet no longer runs fare-free service