<[snipped]>
> Thanks, Tom, for the analysis. My comment is that $1.00
>fare is a nice, round number. One piece of paper for someone
>to slide into the fare box. The moment you get odd values
>(i.e. your example of $1.35), you get a lot of fumbling at
>the fare box and slower boarding. I see this when I ride
>A.C. Transit, SamTrans, and especially Golden Gate Transit
>(with its complicated fare zones). And different fares for
>different times could also complicate things (I can see
>the arguments now, especially at "border" times, when
>someone's watch is slow or fast!)
Ken, when I first started for Muni, the fare was 25 cents. Interestingly,
when it went to 50 cents (I think this happened in 1981), there was a
minimal ridership drop, despite doubling of the fare, because two like
coins were used for the fare, and, at the same, the price of the Fast Pass
was only increased 45% (from $11 to $16). However, when the next fare
increase to 60 cents came--about 1983, if memory serves me right--there was
a *significant* drop in ridership because now people had to fish up 3 or 4
coins of different sizes.
>
> At one time in the "dim" past, didn't Muni attempt to
>charge extra for "express" buses?
>
In 1992, express buses were $1.50. This lasted less than a year, because
it was another period when there was a lot of service missed.
Peter Ehrlich
F-Line Operator
Green Light Rail Division
<norcalrr@sprynet.com>