Managing Traffic Incidents - University of Queensland

6 DECEMBER 2001
Public Transport Integration
Detailed consideration was given to the respective
merits of applying the four fundamental
fare structures (ie flat, time-based, distance-based
and zonal structures) across the
entire SEQ region, and it was concluded that
flat and time-based structures were not suitable.
Neither of these structures permit cost
reflective fares to be established, which is of
paramount importance in an environment of
economic efficiency, commerciality and high
cost recovery.
A distance-based fare structure was found
to be superior in terms of revenue raising efficiency,
however this had to be traded off
against the practical requirement to maintain a
customer friendly public transport fare structure
that is easy to understand, use and market.
Accordingly, work is being directed at
designing a customer friendly zonal fare
structure for SEQ which strikes an appropriate
balance between both requirements.
Although it was concluded that the market
is not ready at this time to embrace a pure distance-based
fare structure, state-of-the-art fare
collection equipment is well equipped to support
it. The decision to move to a 'closed' fare
collection environment will retain the future
capacity to employ 'point-to-point' pricing,
which would not have been available had an
'open' fare collection system been specified.
The product range (or 'tickets') available to
public transport customers is a critical element
of the fare system as it represents the
actual point of contact between the system
and the customer. In developing an appropriate
product range for the SEQ integrated ticketing
environment the following strategic issues
must be addressed:
– What are the key market segments the
product range needs to cater for and what
are the differentiating features of these
market segments?
– What are the operational advantages and
disadvantages of specific ticket types, are
these consistent for all operators, and how
do these align with the operator's objectives?
– What are the dominant product features
which need to be replicated to ensure the
maximum patronage potential is achieved?
– To achieve a consistent product range
across all operators, what product rationalisation
is required?
The SEQ product range is still under development.
A review of international evidence
highlighted the wide usage of the concept of
stored value, with the primary difference being
the fare media used (ie smart card or magnetic
stripe). Results of focus group research
conducted with SEQ residents indicated that
there was general support for the use of a
smart card with stored value functionality,
provided that the system was transparent
enough for users to understand how the benefits
were determined and when such benefits
would be realised.
Significantly, the proposed 'tag on tag off'
ticketing system will create an environment
where it will be possible to
offer consumption-based travel to
Queensland Rail commuters for the
first time. A number of innovative
approaches that utilise the stored
value capability of a smart card are
being considered to address some of
the limitations associated with the
longer term periodical tickets traditionally
used by rail commuters.
It is important to acknowledge that it
will always be necessary to accommodate
the irregular cash paying passengers
and accordingly to retain a capacity
to issue paper tickets for infrequent
or casual users that do not have a
smart card. At the same time, incentives
will be offered to smart card users
to minimise the number of cash