Interchange/Transfer Authority
Description/Objective
The Interchange/Transfer Authority application is operational only where there are agreements for interchange/transfer between services. These agreements may facilitate interchange/transfer:
- on some or all modes in a service area
- only for interchange/transfer between services on the same mode
- only for interchange/transfer between services of the same operator or group of operators
Interchange/transfer may be available on all fare products, or only on designated fare products. In some cases, an additional fare or supplement is payable for interchange/transfer.
The Service Interchange Authority application has the following main functions, in cases where interchange/transfer may be permitted for some or all fare products:
- To determine whether a trip is a new trip or may meet the criteria to be considered as an interchange/transfer trip
- To determine whether a presented fare product is valid for the form of service interchange/transfer being undertaken
- If not valid for interchange/transfer, to process the fare product as a new trip and apply the appropriate fare rules and charges
- If valid for interchange/transfer, to determine what additional charge (if any) is applicable; to initiate the fare calculation and charging processes; and to initiate the travel authorisation and evidence processes
- Where permitted and requested to do so, to add authorisation for subsequent interchanges/transfers on the same trip or future trips
Technologies, data and resources
Interchange/Transfer Authority applications consist of software processes. They are conducted within the fare collection equipment. In essence, they are modules/routines that are called down by the active fare collection processes to apply rules about service interchange/transfer, or to add future interchange/transfer authorisations.
The data requirements are:
- Identification of the route, boarding and lighting points, customer type, fare product, and interchange/transfer conditions relating to the trip being undertaken
- Data about of previous trip(s) that may be taken into account for interchange/transfer rules and fare calculation
- Interchange/transfer rules for the accepted fare products
- Data exchange with upstream and downstream fare collection processes
Advantages and Cautions
The primary advantages of Interchange/Transfer Authority are to:
- facilitate interchange/transfer between services
- ensure that the interchange/transfer rules are correctly applied and the correct fare determined
- manage complex ranges of fare products and fare values
- support the automation of the fare collection process
- provide interchange/transfer data for planning purposes
The principal cautions in relation to Service Interchange Authority are:
- interchange/transfer rules can be difficult to negotiate and define clearly for the full range of circumstances in the service area
- interchange/transfer rules and related fare tables can be extremely complex.
- The software can be very expensive and time-consuming to develop and fully test
- Maintenance, checking and updating of fare tables often imposes quite substantial administrative and technical burdens
- multi-modal and multi-operator integrated ticketing increases complexity. It may require the Operator to work within a common framework with other modes, whose ticketing equipment and fare collection logistics are quite different.
Relevant Case Studies
Prince William County
Dublin (please see Fare Collection Toolkit)