Section 3.03. Determination of annual passenger trips.

 

(1)   Alternative methods. Subject to the department's review and approval under sub. (2) , an urban mass transit system may determine the number of passenger trips taken annually on its system by any of the following methods:

(a) By taking a headcount of each passenger using the system during the calendar year and separately accounting for revenue passengers, transfer passengers, free fare passengers and passengers on specialized subsystems.

(b) By dividing the system's annual fare revenue by the system's per passenger tariff if the system has established and applied a uniform fare for each passenger using the system during the calendar year, and after accounting separately for elderly and disabled, transfer and free fare passenger trips and passenger trips on specialized subsystems.

(c) By using the method prescribed in s. Trans 3.04 for surveying the actual revenue and number of revenue passengers using the system on selected representative days during different periods of the year in order to establish an average fare factor for various types of service day categories and then applying those average fare factors to the system's accumulated passenger revenue and developing ratios of transfer and free fare passengers to revenue passengers.

(d) Using a combination of 2 or more of the methods provided in pars. (a) to (c) when appropriate and practical.

(2)   Department approval.

(a) Since there are substantial differences among the various participating urban mass transit systems with respect to tariff schedules, elderly and disabled reduced fare programs, route service plans, subsystem arrangements, and operating procedures, no single method of calculating annual passenger trips is appropriate for every system. When reviewing a system's proposed election of the methods prescribed in sub. (1) , the department shall determine whether its election will be appropriate for that system for the purpose of providing valid and reliable measure of that system's ridership and will allow that system's total to be comparable to the totals of all other participating systems.

(b) Any variance from the counting procedures prescribed in this chapter is permitted only with the express written approval of the department and then only if the department is satisfied that such variance does not adversely affect the statistical reliability, validity and comparability of the data collected pursuant to the variant procedures.

(3)   Special requirements and procedures. The following apply to each method described in sub. (1) (a) to (c) :

(a) Transit riders boarding with a transfer shall be counted as transfer passengers even though a transfer fare may be required.

(b) Transit riders boarding with a daily, weekly or monthly pass shall be counted as revenue passengers each time they board and use their pass.

(c) Children boarding free because they are under a certain age and accompanied by an adult or because they meet other special conditions shall be counted as free fare passengers.

(d) Transit riders boarding and alighting within a free fare zone and not paying a fare shall be counted as free fare passengers unless a fare has been paid by another under a contract or other arrangement with an urban mass transit system. In the latter case, transit riders shall be counted as revenue passengers.

(e) Transit riders boarding on free fare days or during other free fare promotional periods shall be counted as free fare passengers unless a fare has been paid by another under a contract or other arrangement with an urban mass transit system. In the latter case, transit riders shall be counted as revenue passengers.

(f) Transit riders using special subsystems exclusively for elderly and disabled riders shall be counted separately from and included in a transit system's revenue passenger trips. Revenue passenger trips on special subsystems shall be determined by an actual count; or, if the subsystem is operated under contract to the urban mass transit system, the passenger trip figures reported shall be in direct proportion to the urban mass transit system's contribution to the special subsystem's total expenses. Alternative methods for counting transit riders under this paragraph may be used if expressly approved in writing by the department and then only if the department is satisfied that the alternative method does not adversely affect the statistical reliability, validity and comparability of the data collected pursuant to the variant procedures.

(g) Urban mass transit systems exclusively operating shared-ride taxi services shall only be required to report revenue passenger trips.

History: Cr. Register, August, 1978, No. 272 , eff. 9-1-78; am. (1) (intro.), (a), (b), (c), (2) (a), (c) and (d), cr. (3) (e) to (g), Register, May, 1991, No. 425 , eff. 6-1-91.