On-board travel payment location

The location of the place of fares payment on the vehicle can influence both the efficiency of the collection of legitimate revenues and the speed with which the collection processes are transacted.  A consistency by the operator in the location of on-board payment provides confidence to the passenger and familiarity with the processes involved. This in turn adds to the attraction of public transport to the passenger. On board information concerning where the fare payment processes are transacted should be clear, prominent and easy to understand.

It should be noted that with informal transport modes, the driver or conductor is motivated to collect cash, although the timing of collection [either upon boarding, during the trip or upon alighting] and location of a conductor for payment varies with local convention.

The location of on-board travel payment varies widely in international application. The following practices have been identified:

• At entry, to driver
• At entry, to static conductor
• During travel, to roving conductor
• At exit, to driver or conductor
• At entry or exit, with direction of travel