Impact of Fare Policy Changes on Paratransit Travel Options: METROLift Case Study Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris Countys METROLift program implemented several revised fare policies on travel options available to eligible riders at the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016. Fares changed on the METROLift paratransit single ticket and passes. A premium fare for the expanded service area and a smartcardFreedom Q Cardthat allows free ride on METROs fixed-route services were introduced. This paper documents analyses to determine the impact of the revised METROLift fare policies on travel patterns and travel frequency of METROLift riders. The authors used a linear segmented regression analysis to analyze data from an interrupted time series design. The results suggest that the revised fare policies controlled the growth of percentage of riders who use METROLift paratransit service in total ADA-eligible riders, while improved the awareness and willingness to use supplementary paratransit travel options, especially the fixed-route service in the base service area and the subsidy taxi service in the expanded service area.

published proceedings

  • TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD

author list (cited authors)

  • Tan, S., Park, E. S., & Hwang, J.

citation count

  • 1

complete list of authors

  • Tan, Shuman||Park, Eun Sug||Hwang, Jinuk

publication date

  • August 2019