Evaluating Transit Ticketing and Fare Collection (TFC) Systems: TFC System Alternatives and Evaluation Measures

In this paper, the authors continue the discussion of the TFC system evaluation framework and plan developed by Collura and Plotnikov (2001) and address the issue of TFC system performance evaluation measures. The authors suggest that cost-effectiveness and labor-intensiveness of TFC operations would be useful evaluation measures to assess the operating costs of existing and new TFC systems. The authors also present statistical data on selected heavy rail systems in the U.S. to illustrate the use of the proposed evaluation measures. In addition, these data support the notion that cost-effectiveness and labor-intensiveness may vary considerably among heavy rail TFC systems and that this variation is due, in part, to the TFC technology being used.