BRIEF OBSERVATION OF TRANSANTIAGO DE CHILE By Dr. Yanbin Wang, Chief Operational Officer of Tianjin IC Card Public Network System Co., Ltd. (TCPS), China (wangyanbin@tcps.com.cn) (JULY 10/2007) 1. ADMINISTRATION AND ORGANIZATION # ITEM COMMENTS REFERENCE 1.1 Lack of management experience in urban bus transportation, particularly fare collection & dispatching 1.1.1 No bus transportation experience qualification requirements for fare collection and central control/management during pre-qualification of the bidding process. 1.1.2 The system design was based more on metro or subway operation experience, less on bus transportation 1.2 Lack of centralized management & controlling system. 1.2.1 Lack of central vehicle monitoring system (not image but position monitoring) The experience of urban bus transportation is very important to ensure the success of the new system. Almost every city in the world has this requirement in the pre-qualification of their bidding process to ensure that only experienced parties have the chance to bid. There are a great number of differences between metro and bus operations so that having experience in one industry can not guarantee success in the other This is an obvious omission. This can be done easily with GPS, GIS and wireless communication technologies. It is important to know whether every bus is running as it s supposed to. 1.2.2 Lack of central dispatching system. Central dispatching cannot be replaced simply by fleet control. 1.2.3 Lack of central controlling system. The center should be able to control the bus Example: Colombia, Peru, China Colombia, Peru, El Salvador, China BRIEF OBSERVATION OF TRANSANTIAGO DE CHILE BY DR. Y. WANG (TCPS) JULY 11/2007 PAGE 01/06
1.3 Lack of integration and cooperation among the parties in the system 1.3.1 Fare collectors: not providing efficient and convenient system to collect bus fares for the bus operators. 1.3.2 Bus operator: not following the itinerary, ignoring long waiting time for passengers. 1.3.3 Passengers: a significant percentage does not pay their fares, taking advantage of the inadequate fare collection system. 1.3.4 Bus drivers: not monitoring passengers to ensure they pay thus giving a great number of passengers the chance of not paying their bus fare. 1.4 Lack of a transitional period between the old system and the new system 1.4.1 Eliminating cash payment on buses immediately and completely causes inconvenience inconvenient for a part of the passengers. 1.4.2 Changing many bus routes overnight causes travel inconvenience to many passengers. 1.4.3 Changing the management system overnight is too ambitious. 1.5 Lack of publicity and educational information operation at each level: route, fleet and bus by means of incentives and penalties. The system should be designed to get all parties to work together as one integrated system. Bi-weekly settlement of bus fare income is not in favor of the bus operators, given the high operation costs these days No incentive and penalty enforced, the delay is also partly caused by other parties. Some of the said passengers may protest against the system by means of not paying their fares, but their protest makes the situation worse. Only the police or special ticket controllers are able to enforce passenger payment, and only a driver who is steadily under control and receives incentives will improve the situation A Big Bang has been proved wrong in many system transitions Passengers can enjoy one-trip tickets on the Metro even 5 years after the IC card was introduced, Smart card payment with a discount will attract most passengers. It takes time for passengers to get used to the new system. It is better to introduce the new routes step by step, retaining some old ones during the transition period. People need time to learn about the new system, and work out their own way to integrate with it. China: 24-48 hours China: driver; Cali: bus attendants China: discounts for IC payment BRIEF OBSERVATION OF TRANSANTIAGO DE CHILE BY DR. Y. WANG (TCPS) JULY 11/2007 PAGE 02/06
for the involved parties and the travelling public. 1.5.1 Canvassing users and operators opinions and suggestions can also be educational to them. 1.5.2 Publicity is necessary for any new system to start smoothly. 2. ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS MODEL # ITEM COMMENTS REMARK 2.1 General: Lack of balance between expenditure and income, between incentive and penalty 2.2 The fare collection sector: operators income does not come from the fares collected 2.2.1 Fixed income Model 01: USD 1,060 per bus per month for the on board equipment and the system: fare collection and vehicle tracking 2.2.2 Fixed income Model 02: USD 2.3M per month for the POS network of 2,500 terminals regardless of how much revenue a POS generates. 2.2.3 The only proportional income for the fare collector administrator is 1.9% of the sales value of POS. 2.3 The bus operator sector: income based on the demand (number of passengers calculated from a research model, not from the actual number of passengers.) The system was designed based on some unrealistic assumptions, ignoring the nature of urban public transportation ( transportation factor ) and of human beings ( human factor ) Fixed income will not encourage the operators to make their operation more effective and efficient. When income is guaranteed, the outcome is predetermined to be not efficient. This has been proven out everywhere in different aspects of the human society. An average of USD 920 per month per point of sale is too high compared to the costs of the said equipment and operation But this is not directly linked to the amount collected. It is better to link the bus operator s income to the actual number of passengers and to the total fares collected. Most other systems: commissions for the fare collection operator income is proportional to the fares collected. Other cities experiences: BRT: income based on the number of Kms BRIEF OBSERVATION OF TRANSANTIAGO DE CHILE BY DR. Y. WANG (TCPS) JULY 11/2007 PAGE 03/06
2.3.1 In the first 3 months: fixed income only, no performance evaluation at all. This caused a reduction in the number of buses operating and slower bus runs. 2.3.2 Income will be adjusted based on the previous monthly cost including number of buses, Kms operated, the number of buses used and labor cost: maximum 6% up or down. 2.4 Bus drivers: receiving fixed salary and benefits: no relation to their work performance and the revenue of the company. 2.4.1 The labor benefits for drivers are one of the tiebreakers in the bidding: the higher the benefits, the better chance for a bus operator to win. 2.5 Ticket fare rate: one fare rate to cover 90-120 minutes and 4 trips 2.5.1 Some passengers take advantage of the ticket rate: making a round trip within 90-120 minutes. 3. TECHNOLOGIES: DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION Partly caused by the failure of the technological system partly of controlling of the fare collection & passenger counters. This could result in inefficiency and non-productivity, which will drive the costs higher and higher since there would be no incentive to lower the costs. There is no incentive for the bus driver to work harder and more efficient, or to ensure passenger payment. They do not care to delay at stations with passengers waiting to depart, because running behind schedule will not affect their income, particularly if caused by other factors. The multi-fare system could be better and fairer: i.e. ticket rates based on the distance traveled. The bus fare may go up if the revenue cannot cover the costs. However it is better to install a multi-fare system than simply increase the fare price; or introduce some new regulations such as no double entry in same station with one fare. operated Feeder: income based on the number of passengers. Driver s income should be related to their work performance. Possibility of installing a multi-fare system can be studied in many cities # ITEM COMMENTS REFERENCE 3.1 Trunk buses would be better routed in central lanes to ensure an exclusive corridor instead of running on the right-hand lane. This has been proven effective in many cases. Bogota, China and other cities. 3.2 A traffic light control system should be established to ensure the priority of trunk The traffic light control can help separate trunk buses from other vehicles. It can increase the BRIEF OBSERVATION OF TRANSANTIAGO DE CHILE BY DR. Y. WANG (TCPS) JULY 11/2007 PAGE 04/06 Bogota, China and other cities.
buses, particularly when the central lane efficiency and speed tremendously. corridor is not given. 3.3 Trunk bus stations should be in a separate area and pre-ticketed in order to allow passengers to board the bus quickly. Ticketing on buses is now one of the main causes of the delay on trunk buses and long queues at stations. 3.4 An intelligent central controlling and dispatching system must be established, and run by experienced personnel as soon as possible. This system should be integrated into one unified technological platform with other parts of the overall system such as fare collection and security system. 3.4.1 Vehicle positioning and monitoring. Perhaps the most urgent mission for Transantiago now. 3.4.2 Dispatching, scheduling and itinerary checking. Dispatching buses automatically based on the actual demand, enforcing the bus schedule, monitoring the vehicle status such as speed, routing, door open/close and passenger boarding. 3.4.3 A user information display system: in stations, on board and via internet. Serves passengers better with the information display system, also helps them get used to the new system. 3.4.4 Fleet control system for different levels. Helps to control the buses, provides information services to the fleet, also allows the center to reach each of the buses while on the street. 3.5 Passenger counter equipment must be reinstalled since the current type of equipment is not working optimal 3.6 Fare collection system must be strong enough to support more vehicles: 4,500 is not enough 3.7 More efficient point of sale network: more convenient for people to charge the card. Passenger counting is the data resource for demand control and management system. This involves a host system, validator, communication equipment as well as the operation of the system. More user-friendly self-service terminals with additional means of card recharge such as in the case of Cali (and many cities in China) the central technical platform includes fare collection, vehicle controlling and monitoring, security, information display and advertising. BRIEF OBSERVATION OF TRANSANTIAGO DE CHILE BY DR. Y. WANG (TCPS) JULY 11/2007 PAGE 05/06
3.8 To install cash ticketing boxes allowing passengers to pay cash on board. 3.9 To have ticket supervisors with a mobile validator checking passengers payment status on board, and enforcing a penalty policy. 3.10 Redesign some of the feeder lines; strengthen the shuttle bus routes for communities. [END] internet or automatic. A discounted fare rate will attract most passengers to use the card, but it should remain simultaneously possible to those who take the bus occasionally to buy a single trip ticket in cash. This method is used in many Asian cities, and is proven to be effective. It will encourage passengers to pay their fares. The last mile is often the most important to passengers. All cities in China and Peru. China, Hong Kong. BRIEF OBSERVATION OF TRANSANTIAGO DE CHILE BY DR. Y. WANG (TCPS) JULY 11/2007 PAGE 06/06