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Fare evasion on public transport: Who, when, where and how?

Author

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  • Cantillo, Angel
  • Raveau, Sebastián
  • Muñoz, Juan Carlos

Abstract

Transantiago, the public transport system of Santiago, Chile, has one of the highest fare evasion rates registered worldwide. The official statistics for late 2019 indicated that the evasion rate in bus legs was 26.6% while in metro it was almost 0%. This is a relevant issue due to the impacts of fare evasion on finances and quality of service, as budget constraints put pressure on the transit system. Analysing and understanding fare evasion should be the starting point for proposing solutions that could reduce it. Therefore, in this research we seek to answer the question of who are the evaders, when and where evasion happens and how is the fare evaded on public transport. To answer these questions, extensive data was gathered onboard buses of Transantiago for five full days (19 h a day) of operation, including weekdays and weekend. A total of 10,559 individual records were collected. The information considers age and gender of travellers, and fare evasion was measured in zones of Santiago that are characterised by very different economic conditions. Records also differ in terms of bus occupancy, presence of turnstiles in the buses, and types of stops (with and without off-board payment). Based on the collected information, a Binomial Logit model was calibrated to understand and explain fare evasion, quantifying the effect of different types of explanatory variables. Results show that fare evasion is higher for young men, evening and night periods, low-income neighbourhoods, crowded buses without turnstiles, bus stops without off-board payment and weak accessibility to metro stations and fare vending machines. The model does not only allows the identification of these trends, but is also able to quantify them. Based on the results, potential proposed solutions to tackle evasion are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Cantillo, Angel & Raveau, Sebastián & Muñoz, Juan Carlos, 2022. "Fare evasion on public transport: Who, when, where and how?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 285-295.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:156:y:2022:i:c:p:285-295
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2021.11.027
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Munizaga, Marcela A. & Gschwender, Antonio & Gallegos, Nestor, 2020. "Fare evasion correction for smartcard-based origin-destination matrices," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 307-322.
    2. Benedetto Barabino & Cristian Lai & Alessandro Olivo, 2020. "Fare evasion in public transport systems: a review of the literature," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 27-88, March.
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    5. Barabino, Benedetto & Salis, Sara & Useli, Bruno, 2015. "What are the determinants in making people free riders in proof-of-payment transit systems? Evidence from Italy," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 184-196.
    6. Guarda, Pablo & Galilea, Patricia & Paget-Seekins, Laurel & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios, 2016. "What is behind fare evasion in urban bus systems? An econometric approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 55-71.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ramos, Raúl & Silva, Hugo E., 2023. "Fare evasion in public transport: How does it affect the optimal design and pricing?," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. Celse, Jérémy & Grolleau, Gilles, 2023. "Fare evasion and information provision: What information should be provided to reduce fare-evasion?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 119-128.

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