Graduation Year
2021
Date of Submission
11-2020
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Government
Reader 1
Shanna Rose
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2020 Julian F Thesseling
Abstract
This paper will provide readers with an understanding of the variables that US transit agencies grapple with when developing fare policy, with a particular focus on the political process. The framework chapter will examine the objectives of public transportation and how agencies face difficulties in achieving these objectives. While this paper will focus on American transportation policy, the framework will draw from the experiences of cities across the world. Three case study chapters will then each discuss an American city or region’s approach to fare policy, and how variables have either complicated or enhanced agencies’ ability to develop effective fare systems. Lastly, a discussion chapter will bring together the findings from each case study through targeted comparisons. This paper will illustrate how, while public transit in the United States aims to facilitate efficient and equitable societies through fare policy, the politicization of transportation reduces the ability of transit providers to optimally do so. Direct voter control over transportation funding and a decentralized yet consensus-driven governance structure can counter the adverse effects of the political process on US public transit.
Recommended Citation
Thesseling, Julian, "How American Transit Agencies Determine Fare Policy: It All Comes Down to Politics" (2021). CMC Senior Theses. 2566.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2566
Included in
American Politics Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Transportation Commons, Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons, Urban Studies Commons
