The farebox recovery ratio (also called fare recovery ratio) of a passenger transportation system is the proportion of the amount of revenue

Revenue

In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....

 generated through fare

Fare

A fare is the fee paid by a passenger allowing him or her to make use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used.-Uses:...

s by its paying customers as a fraction of the cost of its total operating expenses.

Most systems aren't self-supporting, so advertising

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 revenue and government subsidies

Subsidy

A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...

 are usually required to cover costs.

Need for government subsidy

There are several practical reasons for government subsidies of public transit. By subsidizing mass transit, it encourages ridership and subsequently lowers traffic congestion. Another benefit is lowering pollution from single occupant vehicles that are no longer on the roads. The third benefit is reducing infrastructure costs needed to build and maintain more street, highway, and freeway lanes associated with increased traffic congestion. These factors considered together also contribute to a better quality of life as defined by global quality of living measurements.

Some argue that there would be no need to subsidize mass transit in the United State if gasoline (petroleum) were not also subsidized. In 1965, in The Urban Transportation Problem, John R. Meyer

John R. Meyer

John R. Meyer was an American economist. He is credited with creating the field of transportation economics and was one of the pioneers of cliometrics.- Life :...

 argued that the urban transportation problem was actually a pricing problem. Consumers do not pay the actual cost for congestion and the government subsidizes all modes. This creates a modal imbalance between all modes but particularly between subsidized urban highways and transit. A study by the International Center for Technology Assessment

International Center for Technology Assessment

The International Center for Technology Assessment is a U.S. non-profit bi-partisan organization, based in Washington, D.C.. ICTA aims to provide the public with full assessments and analyses of technological impacts on society...

 found that after accounting for government subsidies, pollution cleanup and other costs, the real price of gasoline is estimated to be somewhere between US$

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

5.60 and US$15.37 per gallon. Were gasoline sold within this range of prices, people might voluntarily drive less, choose more fuel-efficient vehicles, and use mass transit.

Farebox ratios around the world

The following table lists farebox ratios for some public transportation systems around the world.

Ratio of fares to operating costs for public transport systems (%)

System	Ratio	Year
Asia
Hong Kong (MTR) MTR Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...	149%	2007
Osaka (Hankyu Railway) Hankyu Railway is a Japanese private railway that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of major businesses operated by Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc. The railway's main terminal is at Umeda Station in Osaka...	123%	1991
Osaka (OMTB) Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau is a public department of transportation of the city of Osaka, Japan, which operates the municipal subway lines, the New Tram and city buses.-Current:...	137%	1991
Taipei (MRT) Taipei Rapid Transit System The Taipei Metro, more commonly known as the MRT or formally as the Taipei Rapid Transit System, is a rapid transit system serving metropolitan Taipei in Taiwan. The system is built and operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation and consists of 89 stations and of revenue track...	119%	2006
Teito RTA (now Tokyo Metro Tokyo Metro is one of two rapid transit systems making up the Tokyo subway system, the other being Toei. It is the most used subway system in the world in terms of annual passenger rides.-Organization:... )	170%	1991
Europe
Amsterdam Amsterdam Metro The Amsterdam Metro is a mixed rapid transit and light rail system in Amsterdam, and its surrounding municipalities Amstelveen, Diemen, and Ouder-Amstel in the Netherlands. The network is owned by the city of Amsterdam and operated by the Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf, the company that also operates...	41.3%	2007
Berlin Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe The is the main public transport company of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It manages the city's U-Bahn underground railway, tram, bus and ferry networks, but not the S-Bahn urban rail system....	70.3%	2010
Brussels Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company is the local public transport operator in Brussels, Belgium...	35.2%	2007
Copenhagen Copenhagen Metro Copenhagen Metro is a rapid transit system serving Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Tårnby in Denmark. The system opened between 2002 and 2007, and has two lines, M1 and M2. The driverless light metro supplements the larger S-train rapid transit system, and is integrated with DSB local trains and...	52%	1991
London Underground London Underground The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...	50%	2004
Madrid Madrid Metro The Madrid Metro is a metro system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the sixth longest metro in the world though Madrid is approximately the fiftieth most populous metropolitan area in the world...	41.3%	2007
Milan Milan Transportation System The Milan transportation system is the transport network of Milan, Italy. Milan has an extensive internal transport network and is also an important transportation node in Italy, being one of the country's biggest hub for air, rail and road networks....	28%	1991
Munich Munich Transport and Tariff Association The Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund or MVV is the transit authority of the city of Munich, the capital of the German state of Bavaria...	42%	1991
Paris (RATP)	40%	2007
Stockholm Storstockholms Lokaltrafik Storstockholms Lokaltrafik AB, , commonly referred to as SL, is the organisation running all of the land based public transport systems in Stockholm County....	37%	2007
Rome Rome Metro The Rome Metro is an underground public transportation system that operates in Rome, Italy and opened in 1955. There are currently two metro lines, the A line and the B line . A third line, the green C line, and a new branch of the B line, are currently under construction. Plans have also been...	36%	2007
Vienna Vienna U-Bahn The Vienna U-Bahn is a rapid transit system consisting of five lines. It is the backbone of one of the best performing public transport systems worldwide according to UITP in June 2009. More than 1.3 million passengers use the Vienna U-Bahn every day...	50%	1991
Zurich Zürich S-Bahn The Zurich S-Bahn system is a network of rapid transit rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighboring cantons The Zurich S-Bahn system is a network of rapid transit rail lines that has been...	66%	1991
North America
Amtrak Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...	71%	2009
Atlanta (MARTA) Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA is the principal rapid-transit system in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the ninth-largest in the United States. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting...	31.8%	2007
Austin (CMTA) Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or Capital Metro, is a public transportation provider located in Austin, Texas. It operates bus, paratransit services and a commuter rail/light rail system known as Capital MetroRail for Austin and several suburbs in Travis and Williamson counties...	9%	2007
Boston (MBTA) Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...	43.7%	2002
Chicago (CTA) Chicago Transit Authority Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....	55.2%	2010
Cleveland (GCRTA) Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is the public transit agency for Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and the surrounding suburbs of Cuyahoga County. RTA is the largest transit agency in Ohio, providing over 44 million trips to residents and visitors of the Cleveland area in 2010...	21.5%	2002
Dallas (DART) Dallas Area Rapid Transit The Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority is a transit agency based in Dallas, Texas . It operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and 12 of its suburbs...	28.4%	2008
Detroit (DDOT) Detroit Department of Transportation The Detroit Department of Transportation, commonly referred to as DDOT is the public transportation operator of city bus service in Detroit, Michigan...	13.9%	2002
Edmonton (ETS) Edmonton Transit System The Edmonton Transit System, also called ETS, is the public transit service owned and operated by the city of Edmonton, Alberta. It operates Edmonton's bus and light rail systems.-Service:...	39.4%	2007
Harrisburg, PA (CAT)	35.0%	2005
Las Vegas Monorail Las Vegas Monorail The Las Vegas Monorail is a monorail mass transit system located on the Las Vegas Strip, in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It connects the unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester, and does not actually enter the City of Las Vegas. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas...	56.0%	2006
Long Island (MTA) Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...	26.6%	2009 Q1
Los Angeles (LACMTA) Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...	30.6%	2004
Maryland Maryland Transit Administration The Maryland Transit Administration is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation. It is better known as MTA Maryland to avoid confusion with other cities' transit agencies who share the initials MTA. The MTA operates a...	26.3%	2002
Miami Miami-Dade Transit Miami-Dade Transit is the primary public transit authority of Miami, Florida, United States and the greater Miami-Dade County area. It is the largest transit system in Florida and the 12th-largest transit system in the United States....	16.1%	2002
Montreal (STM) Société de transport de Montréal The Société de transport de Montréal is a public transport agency that operates transit bus, and rapid transit services in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...	57.1%	2006
New York City (MTA) New York City Transit Authority The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City...	55.5%	2009 Q1
New York/Connecticut (MTA) Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...	36.2%	2009 Q1
New York/New Jersey (PATH) Port Authority Trans-Hudson PATH, derived from Port Authority Trans-Hudson, is a rapid transit railroad linking Manhattan, New York City with Newark, Harrison, Hoboken and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey...	41.0%	2002
New Jersey (NJT) New Jersey Transit The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...	56%	2001
Orlando (Lynx) Lynx (transportation) LYNX is a bus system run by the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, serving the Orlando, Florida region. Bus routes are referred to as Links. Standard adult one-way fare is $2 with free single transfers valid for 90 minutes...	26%	2006
Ottawa (OC Transpo) OC Transpo OC Transpo is the urban transit service of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. An integrated hub-and-spoke system of services is available consisting of: regular buses travelling on fixed routes in mixed traffic, typical of most urban transit systems; a bus rapid transit system — a high...	43.2%	2007
Philadelphia (SEPTA) Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is a metropolitan transportation authority that operates various forms of public transit—bus, subway and elevated rail, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolley bus—that serve 3.9 million people in and around Philadelphia,...	58.6%	2002
Pierce County, WA	13.0%	2009
Philadelphia/New Jersey (PATCO) Port Authority Transit Corporation The PATCO Speedline, also known colloquially as the High Speed Line, is a rapid transit system operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation, which runs between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden County, New Jersey...	61.4%	2002
Portland Metro Area (TriMet) TriMet TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...	22%	2010
Puget Sound Region (King County Metro)	19.1%	2006
Puget Sound Region (Sound Transit) Sound Transit Sound Transit has been the popular name of Washington state's Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority since September 19, 1999. It was formed in 1996 by the Snohomish, King, and Pierce County Councils...	22.2%	2007
San Francisco Bay Area (BART) Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...	64.5%	2008
San Francisco Bay Area (Caltrain) Caltrain Caltrain is a California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley in the United States. The northern terminus of the rail line is in San Francisco, at 4th and King streets; its southern terminus is in Gilroy...	41%	2006
Staten Island (MTA) Staten Island Railway The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, publicly known as MTA Staten Island Railway or SIR, is the operator of the lone rapid transit line in the borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA...	15.2%	2002
Toronto (TTC) Toronto Transit Commission -Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...	66.7%	2009
Toronto, Hamilton and area (GO Transit) GO Transit GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...	88.4%	2008
Vancouver (TransLink)	51.9%	2010
Washington, DC (WMATA) Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess...	62.1%	2010