Shopping bags and transit trips

What do shopping bags and transit trips have in common. Well from recent experiences here in the Capitol of the Silicon Valley; plenty.

As of January 1st of this year all retail stores (restaurants excluded) are banned from issuing plastic carryout bags. Stores and pharmacies can provide paper bags but must charge a minimum of 10 cents per bag. From my own experience and also asking others in the retail industry; what is amazing is that just by charging the 10 cent minimum, customers are demanding far less of the paper bags. Just a 10 cent addition to your purchase and demand plummets. On a $50.00 purchase that's 2/10 of one percent or .2% of the total purchase. Freakeconomists would call that freaky elasticity.

Coffee Cups and Transit Stops

Contrast to paper cup usage at your favorite coffee shop and the influence on demand is not that great. How many customers do you see with reusable cups; over half? One of the reasons is that the shops don't charge extra as in the paper bag model.  Coffee shops will only give you a discount if you bring in a cup, and in the Starbuck's case only on certain cups (try bring a Peet's mug into Starbucks and your bucking company policy).

So what does this have to do with transit trips? Look at the photo above that I took at Diridon Station yesterday morning at 8:44. The large transit bus on the left is VTA line 65 bus getting ready to head eastbound (see map) and the small crowd on the right is hiding the "Downtown DASH" shuttle bus that is also heading eastbound. Both lines share exactly the same route for the first mile towards the MLK Library.

Both buses left Diridon at just about the same time. The DASH shuttle left at 8:46 AM and the Route 64 bus eastbound left the station at 8:47 AM. My quick count of the DASH shuttle was about 25 passengers and only 3 on the "64". Actually halfway on the route the "64" passed the shuttle due to a stop to unload passengers at San Fernando and N. San Pedro Streets. So we can assume that the buses left at the same time.

So why does one bus attract over 8 times the passenger as the other? Well the bus on the left has a fare of $2.00 and the one on the right is Free. In comparison to the shopping bag model this is like striking big in the lotto, not free as compared with 10 cents but free compared with $2.00.  The fact that the DASH is free creates excess demand (even the the bus is crowded, it takes longer to board and unboard passengers, and is slower overall that the 64 bus). Free (or not extra costs) greatly influences purchasing habits. I can only assume that maybe the customers on the bus on the left were going beyond the free bus route.

Fareless Squares

Before light rail and streetcars were a part of Portland streets that city had what is known as the Fareless Square where bus rides within the downtown area were free. The first time I visited the city, buses, the MAX (light rail), and the streetcar line were all free in the downtown area and was named the "Fareless Square". Now with rail a big part of downtown the program is now known as the "Free Rail Zone".

What would a Fareless Square do for San Jose?

It would encourage more people to live work and play downtown. Residents would find it easier to shop. Tourists could play and spend money at a wider variety of venues before heading to museums, theaters, and sports venues. Downtown office workers could linger downtown after work to go shopping and dining.

• In the example I gave above, with more options commuters arriving to San Jose could get to their offices sooner with less crowding.
• Tourists who normally park a car next to their destination would now be encourage to explore the city.
• More people out walking and talking transit will enliven the often morbid street scene.
• With greater transit use, there less of a need to build and operate expensive parking garages.
• Safer and cleaner downtown streets with reduced congestion and traffic volumes..

But there are obviously costs involved. In Portland payroll taxes paid for the downtown lines under the assumption that as ridership went up among residents, tourists, and workers commercial activity would increase as well. Also there would need to be an efficient way to price based on zones.

So if we take a tip from the retail bag law (and freeway usage); if its free it will get used. Any comments?


VTA Route 64 vs VTA Downtown DASH Shuttle

View Farless Square Example in a larger map