Metro Transit fares

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Vagueperson
Union Depot
Posts: 311
Joined: June 17th, 2014, 7:13 am
Location: Payne-Phalen, St. Paul

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby Vagueperson » April 14th, 2017, 8:26 pm

Thinking about it more, a rewards program for Go-To card usage that maybe was a bit more random or had a set budget each month could be cheaper and better than having to set out fare for each person. Something even as simple as drawing 10 or so random Go-To card users for a free monthly pass or $50 in stored value, with each tap counting as a entry, could be a way to still offer some incentive while keeping the cost manageable for Metro Transit (especially compared to a 5-10% cost...while I don't have the numbers in front of me, $15,120ish in passes given out in the worst-case scenario of 10 $126 passes every month is likely still a significant savings over the current bonus, and most people probably would only use that $126 pass as a $99 pass with maybe an extra express bus once or twice since they'd have the full pass.) That potentially paired with a points program to earn a gift card (maybe purchased at a discount,) Metro Transit swag, or tickets (many of which seem to be donated to Metro Transit as I've seen them given away somewhat frequently on their Facebook page) could offer an incentive with much less monetary outlay or loss of revenue to Metro Transit than the current program.
I think the convenience of the Go-To card for riders is enough to incentivize its use. I like that I get a discount, but I would use it anyway for both automatic refill from my bank and the speed in boarding.

bptenor
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 139
Joined: November 11th, 2012, 9:28 pm
Location: Lowertown

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby bptenor » April 14th, 2017, 11:26 pm

I really like the discount, but I like the convenience of the GoTo card even more. I would use the card over cash any day, even without the discount. I suspect I might have the luxury of resources (which also allows me to plan ahead) which others might not have.

Vagueperson
Union Depot
Posts: 311
Joined: June 17th, 2014, 7:13 am
Location: Payne-Phalen, St. Paul

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby Vagueperson » April 15th, 2017, 1:38 pm

Having a GoTo card allows me to NOT plan ahead. I don't need cash to use the local bus. This is why I never rode the bus in San Diego. I could pay for the LRT ride at the station. While cash may be the only payment method for many poorer folks, a lot of the rest of us rarely use it.

Korh
Union Depot
Posts: 390
Joined: March 8th, 2017, 10:21 pm

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby Korh » September 3rd, 2017, 12:19 pm

been thinking about the GoTo cards a bit and whether or not Metro Transit could benefit for offering different variations of the cards. So I made a small image outlining 2 rough ideas (1st one is the standard GoTo we already have). Don't know if they are any good or would actually be helpful but just throwing it out as an idea.Image

mamundsen
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1195
Joined: November 15th, 2012, 10:01 am

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby mamundsen » September 3rd, 2017, 7:56 pm

You know about Metropass right? And then there is the U pass, and many others.

Korh
Union Depot
Posts: 390
Joined: March 8th, 2017, 10:21 pm

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby Korh » September 3rd, 2017, 8:12 pm

I know, but the Metropass is only available for people who work for a select number of companies and the 3 school related passes only apply to students if the school is eligible, I was simply trying to think of some pass ideas for those who don't fall in either of those two options. Though I do admit I did forget about the multi-day and Stored Ride Passes when thinking about this, I kinda want to attribute this to the fact that metro transit seems not to promote them as much as the normal GoTo passes, or maybe its just because the routes I frequently ride just don't advertise them as much as other routes.

jebr
Nicollet Mall
Posts: 178
Joined: April 9th, 2013, 1:04 am
Location: St. Paul (East Side)

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby jebr » September 5th, 2017, 2:59 pm

The rush hour card is kinda covered by the 10-ride pass option and the monthly card idea is already covered with the 31-day pass product. Both of these can be loaded onto any standard Go-To card along with stored value. There may be some help in advertising the existing products more, but I don't see a need to create separate cards and make the Go-To card program any more confusing.

If anything, it'd be nice to go to a program kinda like Vancouver where the card automatically figures out daily and monthly passes and just stops charging after you've met the daily or monthly pass costs.

clf
Metrodome
Posts: 95
Joined: February 11th, 2014, 4:45 pm

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby clf » September 6th, 2017, 11:37 am

With the fare increase in Oct. they will be doing away with the bonus value. https://www.metrotransit.org/fare-increase

mamundsen
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1195
Joined: November 15th, 2012, 10:01 am

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby mamundsen » September 6th, 2017, 3:48 pm

No discount is not news. This was announced back with the increase. Look up thread and back a page or so.

twincitizen
Moderator
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Joined: May 31st, 2012, 7:27 pm
Location: Standish-Ericsson

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby twincitizen » September 6th, 2017, 8:05 pm

Gotta add that stored value by Sept. 30 to get the 10% bonus!

I could see the logic in reducing the bonus (to 5%, etc.) to make it less of a giveaway, but removing it entirely is ????? A modest bonus would more than pay for itself in moving people away from cash fares (which obviously cost MT quite a bit of labor to process, not to mention delays in bus boarding, etc)

Tcmetro
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1768
Joined: May 31st, 2012, 8:02 pm
Location: Chicago (ex-Minneapolitan)

Re: Metro Transit fares

Postby Tcmetro » September 6th, 2017, 8:31 pm

Yes this reduces the incentive to use the go-to card, but I guess it makes using the app more palatable, especially for frequent riders.


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