F#

Farebox Recovery#

The percentage of public transport operating costs that are paid for by fare revenue and/or other directly generated revenue.

This is an important metric of financial sustainability for any public transport provider, as it also inversely reveals the level of subsidisation needed to provide service. The Farebox Recovery Ratio informs fare policy decision-making, and is at the centre of such debates.

Metrics:

  • Percentage (%) i.e. 22% of operating costs are recovered by farebox

  • Ratio i.e. for every $1 it takes to operate service, 22ยข is paid for by fares.

Fixed Route#

A type of public transport route design that has a predetermined path, stops/stations, and terminals. It also runs on a predetermined, consistently recurring schedule. The vast majority of public transport services are fixed route services.

This is contrasted with On-Demand Route, where vehicles pick up passengers where they are requested; and Semi-Fixed Route services that may have certain deviations along a general direction of travel.

Fleet#

The set of Transit Units either operated by or under the ownership of a public transport agency.

This is the infrastructural workforce of a public transport system.

Frequency#

Actual Frequency

The rate at which Transit Units are being dispatched, in vehicles per hour. A higher frequency means greater supply and reliability of a public transport system.

This is the inverse of Headway.

Metrics:

  • TUs per hour

  • TUs per minute

Conversion to headway: $\( \frac{1}{Headway}\ \)$

Scheduled Frequency

The rate at which public transport vehicles are expected to be dispatched, in vehicles per hour.