Proof-of-payment

<h2 id="advantages-and-disadvantages">Advantages and disadvantages</h2>

<p>Advantages of proof-of-payment include lower labor costs for fare collection, simpler station design, easier access for mobility-impaired passengers, easier access for those carrying packages or in case of an emergency, and a more open feel for passengers. On buses, proof-of-payment saves drivers the time needed to collect fares, and makes it possible for all doors to be used for boarding. Validated tickets can double as <a href="/facts/Transfer_(public_transit)/f3C0WbjP">transfers</a> between lines. Collecting fares outside a bus "offers the greatest potential for reducing <a href="/facts/Dwell_time_(transportation)/1Hzast9w">dwell time</a>."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a>
</p><p>Disadvantages include higher rates of fare evasion, reduced security on station platforms when no barrier is used, increased potential of <a href="/facts/Racial_profiling/ubS94PW6">racial profiling</a> and other unequal enforcement as "likely fare evaders" are targeted, and regularly exposing passengers to unpleasant confrontational situations when a rider without the proper proof is detained and removed from the vehicle. Visitors unfamiliar with a system's validation requirements who innocently misunderstand the rules are especially likely to get into trouble.
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<h2 id="worldwide-uses">Worldwide uses</h2>
<p>Proof-of-payment is popular in Germany, where it was widely introduced during the labor shortages resulting from the <a href="/facts/Wirtschaftswunder/4dJKuyra">Economic Miracle</a> of the 1960s. It has also been adopted in Eastern Europe and Canada and has made some inroads in newer systems in the United States. The first use of the term "POP" or "Proof of Payment" on a rail line in North America is believed to have been in <a href="/facts/Edmonton_Transit_Service/oGNu6T64">Edmonton</a> in 1980. Since then, many new <a href="/facts/Light_rail/5Sr1FjHu">light rail</a>, <a href="/facts/Streetcar/gSaKExyR">streetcar</a>, and <a href="/facts/Bus_rapid_transit/XUbtfJld">bus rapid transit</a> systems have adopted the procedure, mainly to speed up boarding by avoiding the hassles of crowding at doors to pay fares at a <a href="/facts/Farebox/Y3V0Kqlq">farebox</a> beside the driver as is common practice on traditional <a href="/facts/Bus/CuEPrMhW">buses</a>. <a href="/facts/TriMet/1KIk5sQx">TriMet</a> in Portland, Oregon was the first large transit agency to adopt proof of payment on its bus system, from September 1982 to April 1984. It was discontinued after finding that fare evasion and vandalism increased and little productivity was added through drivers waiting for fares to be paid.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> San Francisco's <a href="/facts/San_Francisco_Municipal_Railway/ms2xznvt">MUNI</a> system became the first North American system-wide adopter of the proof-of-payment system on July 1, 2012 across its buses, <a href="/facts/Muni_Metro/xpgFmyKT">light rail</a> and heritage streetcars, with the exception of <a href="/facts/San_Francisco_cable_car_system/MECctW97">cable cars</a>, allowing boarding on all the available doors.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>
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<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_80.pdf">TCRP Report 80: A Toolkit for Self-Service, Barrier-Free Fare Collection</a> (<a href="/facts/PDF/C9Mn1vYL">PDF</a>)</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Fare Collection". Federal Transit Administration. <a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/research-innovation/fare-collection" target="_blank">https://www.transit.dot.gov/research-innovation/fare-collection</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Wagner, Daniel; Harper, Wesley; Schueftan, Oliver (1986-09-01). "Self-Service Fare Collection on Buses in Portland, OR". TriMet Collection. <a href="https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/oscdl_trimet/18/" target="_blank">https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/oscdl_trimet/18/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"Muni to begin all-door boarding for buses on July 1". San Francisco Examiner. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120426175327/http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2012/03/muni-begin-all-door-boarding-buses-july-1" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120426175327/http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2012/03/muni-begin-all-door-boarding-buses-july-1</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Proof-of-payment open-in-new

Proof-of-payment