Proposed Spec Change: fare_attributes.txt expanded to support multiple fare types.

[and...@ridescoutapp.com]

Currently, you can only have one fare per route. This can cause problems when the agency has multiple supported fares for different reasons. For this example we'll use information from Capital Metro (Austin, TX):
http://www.capmetro.org/fares/

Proposed fields:
parent_fare_id *Optional* [Similar to parent_station in stops.txt] - Used to state which fare_id this is an extension/variant of.
name *Optional* - Used to help the user understand the different fares
requirement *Optional* - Used to specify any requirements for this specific fare type. Whether its from a specific time to specific time or age restrictions etc...


How I envision this:

fare_id,price,currency_type,payment_method,transfers,transfer_duration,parent_fare_id,name,requirement
a,1.25,USD,0,0,,,Single Ride (Local),
a_reduced,0.60,USD,0,0,,a,Single Ride Reduced (Local),Must have a Reduced Fare ID Card. For more info please visit http://www.capmetro.org/RFID/
a_1,2.50,USD,1,,86400,a,Day Pass (Local),
a_1_reduced,1.25,USD,1,,86400,a,Day Pass Reduced (Local),Must have a Reduced Fare ID Card. For more info please visit http://www.capmetro.org/RFID/
a_7,11.25,USD,1,,604800,a,7-Day Pass (Local),
a_31,41.25,USD,1,,2678400,a,31-Day Pass (Local),
a_31_reduced,20.60,USD,1,,2678400,a,31-Day Pass Reduced (Local),Must have a Reduced Fare ID Card. For more info please visit http://www.capmetro.org/RFID/
b,1.75,USD,0,0,,,Single Ride (Premium),
b_reduced,0.85,USD,0,0,,b,Single Ride Reduced(Premium),Must have a Reduced Fare ID Card. For more info please visit http://www.capmetro.org/RFID/
b_1,3.50,USD,1,,86400,b,Day Pass (Premium),
b_1_reduced,1.75,USD,1,,86400,b,Day Pass Reduced (Premium),Must have a Reduced Fare ID Card. For more info please visit http://www.capmetro.org/RFID/
b_7,16.75,USD,1,,604800,b,7-Day Pass (Premium),
b_31,62.00,USD,1,,2678400,b,31-Day Pass (Premium),
b_31_reduced,31.00,USD,1,,2678400,b,31-Day Pass Reduced (Premium),Must have a Reduced Fare ID Card. For more info please visit http://www.capmetro.org/RFID/
c,3.50,USD,0,0,,,Single Ride (Commuter),
c_reduced,1.75,USD,0,0,,c,Single Ride Reduced(Commuter),Must have a Reduced Fare ID Card. For more info please visit http://www.capmetro.org/RFID/
c_1,7.00,USD,1,,86400,c,Day Pass (Commuter),
c_1_reduced,3.50,USD,1,,86400,c,Day Pass Reduced (Commuter),Must have a Reduced Fare ID Card. For more info please visit http://www.capmetro.org/RFID/
c_7,27.5,USD,1,,604800,c,7-Day Pass (Commuter),
c_31,98.25,USD,1,,2678400,c,31-Day Pass (Commuter),
c_31_reduced,48.10,USD,1,,2678400,c,31-Day Pass Reduced (Commuter),Must have a Reduced Fare ID Card. For more info please visit http://www.capmetro.org/RFID/

[Aaron Antrim]

Andrew,

I am cross-posting this reply to the gtfs-fare-wg group (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/gtfs-fare-wg/V63xRSnQJGw), where similar discussions have taken place.

I suggest considering this proposal in the broader context of various approaches to expressing other fare types in GTFS. I have seen two (one proposed, another implemented). Various proposals have been made and experiments are underway; there is need to come to a consensus.

1.) Here is a proposal to add a fare_products.txt file. It includes includes a 'priority' field — essentially, the highest priority fare product is the same as your parent fare:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mK3--o5g4-3cCXaqmch92U63JTwChh0L2VCmcDViIlM/edit#heading=h.na7e10zbssh5

I think this proposal is very promising, but probably needs additional capabilities to express eligibility-restricted reduced fares for particular rider categories.

2.) The SF Bay Area's MTC has implemented a "GTFS Extended" or "GTFS +" format for agencies that participate in 511.org. Here is documentation for an old version of the specification (http://www.mtc.ca.gov/services/511/GTFS_Additional_Files_Format.pdf). I am unsure where documentation for newer versions of the specification is published. The public GTFS for Sonoma County Transit (http://data.trilliumtransit.com/gtfs/sonomacounty-ca-us/) provides an implemented example of GTFS+ (including the reduced fare categories).

Notably, the GTFS+ pre-defines particular "rider categories", a feature which might be useful in the context of the United States where transit agencies consistently define similar discount fare categories

rider_category_id – Unique rider category ID 2 - Senior

                  3 - Child

                  4 - Student

                  5 - Youth

                  6 - Disabled

                  7 – Promotional category

                  11 – Military

15 to 25 – Custom categories(agency can assign categories

that do not fall under standard categories mentioned above)

As an approach forward, I suggest we work at editing https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mK3--o5g4-3cCXaqmch92U63JTwChh0L2VCmcDViIlM/edit?usp=sharing. Would you be willing to take a stab at fitting your proposal into that framework?

-- 
Aaron Antrim
www.trilliumtransit.com
Portland, Oregon

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