Post by Gondola Project
Last week, Steven wrote an interesting post about the psychology of travel decisions for public transit riders.
Unlike driving, riding a bus or train tends involve a host of a variables (i.e. ticket price, wait times, transfer times, and dwell times) which ultimately affects a passenger’s decision. One of these factors, price, is probably one of the largest determinants in the minds of a passenger.
Knowing this fact, Singapore’s MRT system this past summer implemented an innovative 1-year pilot program to combat congestion — Travel Early, Travel Free.
The program is very straightforward — passengers who “tap out”/exit before 7:45am from one of sixteen designated MRT stations will not be charged for their ride.
Officials hope that for those who are willing to alter their schedules, they will travel just slightly earlier to help spread out the peak, and thereby, reducing peak hour crowding.
To help riders understand how their decisions can affect congestion, the LTA posted some telling images of what a huge difference 15 minutes can make.
730am. Bishan Station.
745am. Bishan Station.
800am. Bishan Station.
830am. Bishan Station.
Their overall objective is to entice 10-15% of riders to take advantage of this program. And to sweeten the deal, they decided to offer early-bird commuters free coffee on the first three days.
Whether or not this trial is successful remains to be seen but the results of this should definitely interest those in the public transit field.
While I do think this program will yield positive outcomes, one odd thing that I immediately noticed was the absence of a “leave early, leave free” deal. I mean, if you’re trying to reduce congestion during the morning, shouldn’t a similar program exist during the afternoon?
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