Maddenation
Computer Train
My friend, Ed, often takes the train from New York to Convent Station, where I pick him up to play golf. While I was in Ireland, he played with Dick Larkin, who picked him up two stops farther west in Morris Plains. He noticed that they charge $3.50 more to go to Morris Plains than they do to go to Convent Station. That seems like a lot for only two stops. So we got to wondering: what is a fair fare for train service. Should it get progressively more expensive per mile the farther one gets from the City? On the other hand, should that poor guy who gets off in Hackettstown pay an exorbitant amount for the last few miles?
We concluded that the first-pass “fair” way to charge is to divide the train operating cost by the mileage to the given stop and then divide by the average number of passengers getting off at that stop (or better, the average number going between those two points). That way, each passenger is sharing the “mileage cost” of the train with his fellow passengers.
I love little problems like this. It involves a situation anyone can imagine that has obviously been “solved” by New Jersey Transit in a way that presumably satisfies their customers as well as the governing authorities who oversee such activities. It also involves more than merely pure cost considerations, as one might well conclude that the many passengers traveling shorter distances on the train ought to subsidize the few passengers traveling to the end of the line. This type of reasoning also pervades many other community services (and societal decisions), like phone and sewer lines, cable service, electricity distribution, toll roads, and the like. These are not hypothetical questions, either. Someone has to figure them out and satisfy the “managers” that it’s been done correctly.
In the end, however, someone riding the train to Morris Plains one day instead of Convent Station gets to question whether the $3.50 incremental charge is really fair.
Comments
Dad • 07/24/05 • 12:23 PM:Naturally, I decided to check the train fares to see how they compared from stop to stop, and I was dissappointed. First, a correction. It’s only $3.25 more (round trip) to go to Morris Plains. One way is only $1.75.
The train fares generally reflect only the mileage between stops. Morris Plains is pivot point where the rate per mile changes dramatically from about 25 cents per mile to 2 cents per mile! True, the incremental charge between Convent and Morris Plains is possibly the highest rate per mile for the whole route, but it’s not too far “above the curve.” It’s unusual that the rate drops so precipitously after Morris Plains, but that may reflect a much lower passenger load plus an attempt to entice people to use the train. The Hackettstown people really get a big incentive, paying no additional charge for the last 9 miles (and only 2 cents/mile for roughly the last half of the trip). So much for fairness.
Patrick • 07/26/05 • 10:34 AM:Fairness would only come into play when it affects the bottom line. Would people think they are being charged unfairly? Would that give them reason enough not to ride the train? Also, I guess, it would matter whether the train makes enough money to justify their trips farther out west. Ah, and you have to figure that you can certainly charge close to what a driver would be paying in tolls. As long as you’re less than that, people will find the train to be a bargain. The unscientific method would be to set prices and fiddle with them every now and then to see if it increases net profit or not. Then you hone in on your optimum price. Unless, of course, you are considering environmental effects, trying to encourage train use. In any case, single train rides are fairly expensive, and you can make the train worthwhile by buying monthly passes and longer. Or by getting old. I suspect that of a lot of their work involves looking over their shoulders at what others do (other kinds of transportation, other cities, etc.) and a lot of guesswork.
Dad • 07/26/05 • 4:29 PM:Not sure what you meant when you mentioned fairness vis a vis bottom line, but I think I disagree. Ed and I both thought it might be unfair to charge that much extra for 2 stops. If you’re driving to the train, you might well pick Convent over Morris Plains to save the cost. Also, if I were building a train system, I would most certainly consider fairness in setting fares; as well as supply/demand and alternatives like driving.
Also, there’s a lot more than tolls connected with driving. On the train you can read, watch the scenery, talk to friends, sleep, etc. The car offers traffic and hassle, which I think is worth paying to avoid (or reduce, as train travel has it’s own hassles.)
Apparently, trains don’t charge much more than what it costs to run them, otherwise this would be a profitable business instead of one that needs government subsidies.
Finally, what’s this crack about “getting old?” I resemble that remark!
Patrick • 07/29/05 • 5:19 PM:That was no crack about getting old, it’s a fact. Senior citizens pay less on the train. One factor I forgot is environmental effects, which can push government to create incentives for train riders. Not many people will do it just because it helps the environment, but they’ll do it for the reasons you listed and because it saves them money. If it does. In any case, you have to overcome the “convenience” of traveling on your own schedule (with driving), even if it’s not very convenient. We’re a selfish people, and as long as we can talk on our cell phones while we’re driving, we don’t need the train…
Dad • 07/29/05 • 6:22 PM:Another big factor I didn’t mention is fixed vs. variable cost. The fixed cost (trains, track, stations, payroll) of the rail system is huge, so the cost per incremental mile is only the fuel, employees, and extra maintenance. If you consider the outlying stations as only covering variable cost (the close-in people already paid the fixed cost) then maybe the lower mileage rate is justified.
The government could promote rail travel by not repairing roads and allowing crazy people to shoot out the tires of passing cars. Then you replace tired busses (pun intended) with hovercraft aeromobiles so they don’t depend on good roads. Then you put in Starbucks on every corner so people can have a cup of latte while they’re waiting for the next mass transit option. (They’ve already done the Starbucks part.)
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