MetroCard and fare dodging
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The West Yorkshire MetroOard Is equivalent to the West Midlands Travelcard introduced in October 1972 and still priced at £4 for buses only.
This too has almost eliminated fare evasion, and is a " success." Almost.
The loss on each four-week £4 card in 1972 was predicted by WMPTE to be 15s (75p) which was 18.75 per cent and totalled £9 per user per annum. Loss in 1975 is probably £12 and, 'if all the half-million daily passengers used the card, could now total £6 million per annum.
Fortunately for general passengers, the " success " only extends to some 40,000 TC users.
An extra loss from August 1973 is commission paid to newsagents for TC sales.
In my opinion emphasis on the "simple" Travelcard scheme has kept officials from devising proper fare systems for the 90 per cent passengers who, 'in Birmingham, are faced daily by the " no change" Autofare method, 'hailed as the fastest in the country, but under which people may have to buy unnecessary articles, go to other passengers 'in the queue or on the bus, stand on the platform of a moving bus waiting until someone with change gets on, or be told to get off, get change and get on the next bus.
Perhaps WMPTE officials do not have the capacity to devise anything better than these simple systems.
No wonder people buy Travelcards, but 'lit is an expensive and unsatisfactory way of dealing with fare evasion and overriding, There is of course no control over how far Travelcard users travel.
I peksonally have obtained £2.51 worth of travel in one day using a £1.25 weekly Travelcard.
I was checking stop signs of which I have noted over 400 (and photographed over 150) incorrect signs since " integration " of Midland Red in December 1973.
That, and the map with 1,300 errors, is another story.
C. R. BALDWIN, Integration Sub-committee Transport 2000 West Midlands.