Equity Analysis of Urban Rail Fare Policy and Passenger Overload Delay: An International Comparison and the Case of Metro Manila MRT-3

Abstract

This study focused on the intra-modal equity of urban rail fare policy and passenger overload delay. A framework for evaluating equity of a fare policy is proposed, and used to make a macroscopic comparison among several urban rail fare policies. It was found that there is a trade-off between horizontal and vertical equity. A new passenger overload delay equity index is also proposed based on the theory of relative deprivation. The study also examined the case in Metro Manila where urban rail fares have been kept constant since 2000 amidst inflation and increase of non-rail public transport fares. This entailed estimations of station O-D (origin-destination) matrix using gravity model and passenger waiting time using queuing theory. It was found that although it is commendable in terms of fare affordability, it appears that the very low rail fares have increased rail demand beyond capacity, thus bringing about inequity in passenger overload delay.