Understanding public transit ridership recovery

APTA research earlier this year revealed that public transit ridership in the U.S. has recovered to 79% of pre-pandemic levels. Smaller cities relying less on commuter travel have recovered to a higher level than larger cities. Buses have also retained more riders than trains.

What does this tell us about how public transit ridership can continue to rise, and what role does ticketing technology play?

Changing demographics and transit usage

The APTA research, carried out with the Urban Institute and the Center for Neighborhood Technology, recommended that agencies regain ridership by focusing on more marginalized communities, offering more equitable transport, and supporting wider communities.

Since the pandemic, public transit in the U.S. has become less about commuter riders and more about offering better opportunities for people who need mobility. The report identified workers in manufacturing or fulfillment facilities, students, healthcare professionals, and lower-income workers. These demographics are more likely to use buses and to travel outside the traditional 9-5 commuter hours.

Role of ticketing technology for riders

How can our ticketing technology help?

The research showed that many people need more information about using public transport and how to pay for it.

With precise journey planning, including ticket prices, Kuba’s mobile solution enables riders to understand their journey completely, both in terms of practicalities and cost, before they even start their ride. Mobile notifications also help to support the passenger experience, giving them real-time information and travel updates. 

The solution also offers cost-effective tickets. Fare caps bring automatic value to riders ‘on the go’ by rewarding frequent travel within a given period (day, week, or month). Once a fare cap is hit, further travel during the fare cap window is free. The concept is similar to buying a period pass, except there is no need to plan or budget for paying a large sum upfront. 

Easy planning, where riders can see all the options for their entire trip in one app, can extend the transit network and make end-to-end journeys without a private car possible.

Interest in public transit increases when it is easier for users to plan and pay for their journeys on a mobile platform. Our platform also offers an aggregation of additional services for the first and last mile, such as ridesharing, on-demand services, and microtransit (bike share and e-scooters), all accessible using one app.

Savings and cost reductions for transit agencies

Transit agencies face an uncertain financial situation with the impending fiscal cliff.

An increase in riders means increased revenue, but other costs are associated with providing public transit, where agencies can save costs by using ticketing technology.

Findings from many transit agencies, including our partners at Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), have shown that introducing a mobile ticketing platform can tangibly reduce agencies’ costs.

Once the upfront costs of setting up a mobile ticketing platform have been separated, fare collection through an app has fewer costs. The combined cost to the agency could be half that of cash collections and even more if they successfully shift a group of riders, such as students or corporate employees, to multi-month pass products.

Call center use in many public transit agencies is associated mainly with trip planning requests and questions about fares. A well-designed trip planning tool integrated into a mobile ticketing platform will significantly reduce the agency’s call center costs. Between 2010 and 2018, DART experienced a nearly one million calls reduction annually due to the shift to digital alternatives available to riders.

The platform’s aggregation of microtransit and paratransit allows specific users to book and pay directly through the app rather than relying on expensive call centers. Thus, the agency saves money and improves service and convenience for users.

Introducing a mobile ticketing platform means agencies can reduce or eliminate the need to provide ticket vending machines (TVM). DART found that once they introduced a mobile app, there was a clear reduction in TVM transactions and farebox collections as mobile ticketing increased. This creates cost benefits, as it reduces the service requirements for both TVMs and fareboxes, and avoids the higher credit card processing fees at the TVMs.

Mobile ticketing removes barriers

At Kuba, we agree that recovering ridership pre-pandemic levels depends on building equitable mobility systems that remove the barriers to riding transit. One of our goals is to strengthen local communities by making fare payments fair, inclusive, and easy. Our mobile app—along with our account-based ticketing and open-loop fare payment systems—is designed with this aim in mind.

Contact us today for a live demo of our mobile mobility platform to see how it can work for you. We’d love to hear from you – contact Kevin Corkery