No Clear Correlation Between Fare Revenue and Ridership

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

In recent weeks, many MBTA riders have expressed frustration about the T’s recent fare hike. In fact, some riders are volunteering to stand on platforms and lead a conversation about what riders can do to roll back the hike. However, the T is unlikely to budge. Even when ridership declines for a period, fare revenue continues to climb.

The last three fare hikes occurred in 2012, 2014, and 2016. While all three led to a decrease in unlinked passenger trips the following year, they generated an increase in fare revenue. In fact, fare revenue increased every year from 2007-2017, with the exception of 2010. Further, the largest increase in fare revenue actually came in a year in which ridership declined. According to Pioneer Institute’s MBTAAnalysis.com, from 2012 to 2013, fare revenue increased by 19.7% even as ridership decreased by 1.6%. Moreover, when ridership grew by 7% in 2011, its largest increase between 2007 and 2017, fare revenue only rose by 2.2%. When the T implements Automated Fare Collection 2.0 and works the early bugs out of the system, even higher revenue can be expected.

While some riders feel service quality hasn’t improved enough to merit a fare increase, state law allows the MBTA to raise fares no more than 7 percent once every two years. Further, riders should be aware that in 2017 the T was the fourth largest transportation network in the United States in unlinked passenger trips, but ranked sixth in total fare revenue. 

However, the fare revenue per unlinked passenger trip increased by 60 percent between 2007 and 2017, which is nearly 20 percentage points more than its closest peer system. While a fare hike is nothing new, riders are right to demand that it correspond with improved service.

Get Our Fix the T Updates!

Related posts:

Pioneer Institute Public Statement: A Season for Management Reforms

The MBTA's red and green line derailments this week highlight…

Three Cheers for the MBTA’s Perq Commuter Benefits Program

Late last year, the MBTA rolled out a promotional campaign to…

MassOpenBooks: A look inside MassPort

/
Every day, thousands of passengers pass through Logan Airport,…

MBTAAnalysis: A look inside the MBTA

/
The MBTA shuttles over a million passengers a day around Greater…

The Metro & the MBTA: Raising Fares May Not Be Enough

/
New York City and Boston are drastically different cities, but…

Whistleblowers Were Proven Right: MBTARF Was Underreporting Its Unfunded Pension Liabilities

In a new brief, Pioneer shows that whistleblowers’ 2015 claim…

Pioneer Institute Public Statement on the MBTA’s Proposal to Increase Fares by 6.3 Percent

While Pioneer Institute opposed the 2016 MBTA fare increases,…

Drop in MBTA Commuter Rail Ridership Continues

/
A recent Boston Globe column by Northeastern University Professor…

MBTA Leak Tracker

/

A Win for Commuters

We are thrilled that the MBTA is moving forward to expand its…

Moving the MBTA Forward

We are pleased that former Pioneer Institute Research Director…

Review of MBTA Twitter Alerts Finds Fewer “Delayed” Trains, Corresponding Increase in Those “Running Behind”

BOSTON - A review of four years of MBTA commuter rail Twitter…

Public Statement on MBTA Ridership & Pension Costs

Monday’s meeting of the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control…

Rebuilding the Long Island Bridge May Not Be the Answer

/
From the 1920s to 2014, Boston Harbor’s Long Island played…

The Future of Transportation in the Commonwealth

Taking advantage of the public comment period, Pioneer Institute…

The Storrow Drive Tunnel Has The Lowest Sufficiency Rating In The Country, Why Hasn’t It Been Fixed Yet?

/
If you live in or commute to Boston, chances are you’ve driven…

Commuter Rail Twitter Reveals History of Delays

/
An easy way to bond with fellow Bostonians is to complain about…

What impact do Massachusetts home prices have on Boston commuters?

/
Massachusetts is commonly ranked one of the most expensive states…

Harris Foulkes is a Roger Perry Transparency Intern at Pioneer Institute and a rising sophomore at Amherst College studying Economics.