Variation by speed of travel

Some systems differentiate fares by the speed of travel, often seeking to capture the value that a passenger receives from a faster service in a capital-intensive mode. This practice may even be applied within a mode, with express or limited-stop services being charged at a higher rate than stage-carriage services.

It should be noted that passengers are generally willing to pay for a faster service, recognizing the value of the time that this saves, but the operator also benefits from the lower production cost arising from greater labor and asset productivity. It is therefore prudent for an authority to put in place a mechanism to capture these twin benefits through the route tendering process, rather than to allow them to accrue to the respective parties and be lost to the system.