When did cities start allowing transfers without paying again on single tickets?

[johncrossley]

It is common for cities outside the UK to allow you to change onto another bus, tram or metro on a single ticket as long as you don't exceed the time limit. When and where did this idea start?

 

[RT4038]

It is common for cities outside the UK to allow you to change onto another bus, tram or metro on a single ticket as long as you don't exceed the time limit. When and where did this idea start?

I recall that tickets on the Amsterdam trams allowed interchange within a certain time frame in the 1960s.

 

[dutchflyer]

That really varies a lot per country and system. But somehow I recall that in some (a very few) systems it was right from the start when more as 1 line ran-I also recall from my junior years that even before stamps were used for that, clips in larger papers were used. Or a marker pen/crayon. So that must have been around 1900 or even before. (no, I am not that old, thats just reasoning).
And USA was always famous for its ´transfer slips´-though often these would cost a few cents extra.
OTOH in some simplified systems these got scrapped-in the old communist times those tram tickets, always to be bought before boarding, were for just 1 ride-also with clips and no stamps in a 3x3 pattern. The explanation was then that the fare was lowered so much that even if one had to use 2 it was still cheaper as a transfer in places were socialism had not yet arrived.
The background to this is how systems are set up-like as extreme every area has a direct link, thus with a multitude of lines on one sector but with generally low frequency, or a better frequency with fewer or just 1 lines-making the need for transfers.
(we call this ´the nr of lines per branch´).

 

[Austriantrain]

It is common for cities outside the UK to allow you to change onto another bus, tram or metro on a single ticket as long as you don't exceed the time limit. When and where did this idea start?

It really depends a lot. The „Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region“ for Vienna and its region started in 1984 and since than this has been possible for all public Transport within the region. Before that, the rules for changing without new ticket were more patchy.

 

[AlbertBeale]

It is common for cities outside the UK to allow you to change onto another bus, tram or metro on a single ticket as long as you don't exceed the time limit. When and where did this idea start?

In Lisbon more than 50 years ago, a metro ticket (which I vaguely remember as costing 1.5 escudos) allowed you to continue on by bus (or maybe tram?) from the end of the metro line. You just waved the metro ticket at the driver, and said you were transferring - if I remember correctly...

 

[Jan]

OTOH in some simplified systems these got scrapped-in the old communist times those tram tickets, always to be bought before boarding, were for just 1 ride-also with clips and no stamps in a 3x3 pattern. The explanation was then that the fare was lowered so much that even if one had to use 2 it was still cheaper as a transfer in places were socialism had not yet arrived.
The background to this is how systems are set up-like as extreme every area has a direct link, thus with a multitude of lines on one sector but with generally low frequency, or a better frequency with fewer or just 1 lines-making the need for transfers.
(we call this ´the nr of lines per branch´).

I remember from Bucharest (though it was probably the same in a lot of other places in Romania and Eastern Europe in general) that they also used to sell season tickets that were only valid on one or two lines, which would reinforce the tendency to a network design with lots of direct lines. Although I think you were allowed to also use parallel lines on the shared common sections with such a ticket, though I don't know how far back that rule goes. (Though these days Bucharest has moved to time-based tickets for single fares and season tickets are now valid for all buses and trams – the only differentiation that remains is whether you also want the metro or even the airport train included as well…)

 

[JGurney]

It is common for cities outside the UK to allow you to change onto another bus, tram or metro on a single ticket as long as you don't exceed the time limit. When and where did this idea start?

Dutch 'national strippenkaart' tickets allowed unlimited changes within a time limit when I first used them in 1984, but I don't know how long they had been in use by then. While I only used them on buses and trams in the Amsterdam region, as I recall they were valid all over the country on buses, trams and those trains classed as 'local' (generally those stopping at all stations).

 

[miklcct]

It is extremely uncommon for the cities I visited to allow this. This includes Hong Kong, most places in China, and places in Egypt / Turkey / Russia, etc. The exception is inside a single metro / tram network.

 

[DanielB]

Dutch 'national strippenkaart' tickets allowed unlimited changes within a time limit when I first used them in 1984, but I don't know how long they had been in use by then. While I only used them on buses and trams in the Amsterdam region, as I recall they were valid all over the country on buses, trams and those trains classed as 'local' (generally those stopping at all stations).

The "Strippenkaart" was introduced on May 8th, 1980. Validity in trains was however limited to a few larger cities. Depending on the amount of zones travelled, the time limit for unlimited changes was also longer.
This principle was continued with the various tickets purchased on the bus/tram at several operators.

Technically even the OV-chipkaart and now OV-pay use a similar principle: an unlimited number of changes is allowed as long as you check-in maximum 35 minutes after your last check-out. In that case you won't pay the base fare again, but just the distance travelled. (In trains, the long-distance discount will continue to add up)
This is mode specific however: the 35 minute limit applies to all public transport, but changes are only recognised between trains or between bus/tram/metro. There is no relation to where you are, so when I would take a bus from my home to Amersfoort station, then a 14 minute trip by train to Utrecht and subsequently take a bus there I'd not be charged the base fare for the bus trip in Utrecht as there's less than 35 minutes between checking out in Amersfoort and checking in in Utrecht.

 

[rvdborgt]

Dutch 'national strippenkaart' tickets allowed unlimited changes within a time limit when I first used them in 1984, but I don't know how long they had been in use by then. While I only used them on buses and trams in the Amsterdam region, as I recall they were valid all over the country on buses, trams and those trains classed as 'local' (generally those stopping at all stations).

Only on specific trains: in a few big cities, such as Amsterdam, and on a few regional lines: around Groningen and east of Arnhem; maybe a few more. Certainly not in all all stations services.

 

[Cloud Strife]

In the DDR, it seems to have been introduced in East Berlin in 1989: http://www.berliner-verkehrsseiten....n_1949-1992-Ost/tarifwesen_1949-1992-ost.html

With the caveat that it was only available for interchange between the U and S-Bahn systems at specific transfer stations.

Warsaw appears to have introduced transfer tickets in 1995 when the first section of Metro opened.

 

[Newtraveller58]

It really depends a lot. The „Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region“ for Vienna and its region started in 1984 and since than this has been possible for all public Transport within the region. Before that, the rules for changing without new ticket were more patchy.

Even before the VOR was established, within Vienna city (what became the city zone 100 in VOR days) tickets were transferable between all modes of transport. When I was in Vienna in the mid 60s, one ticket took you all the way across the city, however many changes you needed, as long as you didn’t double back.

 

[gordonthemoron]

The NSW Opal system is strange, AFAIR transfers between the same mode is free, but to a different mode you get a credit of about AUD 2 off the next fare. ie Bus->Bus and Train->Train are free and bus to train/light rail/ferry gets you a credit

 

[Roger1973]

The London County Council Tramways had a fairly comprehensive range of transfer / return tickets available from their fairly early days, not just for journeys that couldn't be done on a through tram, but also allowing passengers to get on the first tram that came along and change where necessary even if there was a direct route. This largely continued through London Transport's ownership of the tram network and the parts of it converted to trolleybus, but was abolished when tram to bus conversion started in 1950.

This was for specific point to point journeys rather than within a time limit. I think in theory passengers were supposed to make the change promptly, but the tickets didn't show a time of boarding on the first car.

The Metropolitan Electric and London United Tramways (latterly in the same ownership as most of the London Underground before London Transport was formed) had through ticketing arrangements to / from the Underground at interchange points like Hammersmith, Shepherds Bush and Finsbury Park, although I'm not sure how the practicalities of this worked, and I think it was an add-on rather than at the same fare as a journey just to those points.

And the Underground allowed change of train where necessary as a matter of routine (although this may not have been the case in the earlier years when different lines had different ownership), so underground passengers would not be financially penalised for making a journey that wasn't possible by a direct journey, unlike bus passengers (although with graduated fares of the past, this was to less of an extent than with later zonal / flat fares.)

 

[Gordon]

Geneva urban since about early 70s as I recall. Originally limited to a single sensible 'one direction' journey, later modified to be a 1 hour 'rover'