Transportation energy contingency planning: financing emergency transit services with temporary fare surcharges

The feasibility of using a temporary fare surcharge as a source of additional operating revenue for transit agencies during an energy crisis is examined. The characteristics of a temporary surcharge proposal, including the general advantages and disadvantages of the surcharge, are discussed. Using data from the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle, two representative scenarios were developed on the assumption that Seattle Metro would consider imposing a temporary surcharge during an energy crisis. The first scenario assumes Seattle Metro would impose a surcharge to cover the increased costs of operating its base service. The second one assumes a more severe energy crisis which would encourage Seattle Metro to provide peak overload service. Under this scenario, Seattle Metro would impose a surcharge to cover the increased costs of operating its base service and the total overload service operating costs. Background information on Seattle Metro, including their experience with previous energy crisis is presented. The scenario details and conclusions are followed by a discussion of the limitations of a temporary fare surcharge.