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Title:

Trading Public Transport Travel Demand for Electronic Coupons Through Mobile Device Fare Collection

Accession Number:

01519939

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Mobile technologies are generating new business models for urban transport systems, as is evident from recent startups cropping up from the private sector. Public transport systems can make more use of mobile technologies than just for measuring system performance, improving boarding times, or for analyzing travel patterns. Unlike earlier studies on mobility credits, a new transaction model is proposed for public transport systems where travelers are allowed to pre-book their fares and trade that demand information to private firms. In this public-private partnership model, fare revenue management is outsourced to third party private firms such as big box retail or large planned events (such as sports stadiums and theme parks), who can issue electronic coupons to travelers to subsidize their fares. This e-coupon pricing model is analyzed using marginal cost theory and shown to be quite effective for monopolistic firm participation, particularly for demand responsive transit systems that feature high cost fares, non-commute travel purposes, and a closed access system with existing pre-booking requirements. However, oligopolistic scenarios analyzed using game theory and network economics suggest that public transport agencies need to take extreme care in planning and implementing such a policy. Otherwise, they risk pushing an equivalent tax on private firms or disrupting the urban economy and real estate values.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AP030 Public Transportation Marketing and Fare Policy.

Monograph Accession #:

01503729

Report/Paper Numbers:

14-2055

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Chow, Joseph Y J

Pagination:

18p

Publication Date:

2014

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC
Date: 2014-1-12 to 2014-1-16
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; References; Tables

Uncontrolled Terms:

Coupons

Subject Areas:

Finance; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I10: Economics and Administration

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2014 Paper #14-2055

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Jan 27 2014 2:43PM