Zone-Based Fares¶
Main files: fare_leg_rules.txt, areas.txt, stop_areas.txt
Example: Translink (Vancouver)
Reminder
Zone-Based Fares is used to represent zone-based fare systems, where a specific fare applies when traveling from one particular zone to another zone. A zone is defined by an area or group of stops. For more information revisit the Features section in the Introduction page.
Note
This section includes examples for Contactless fares only. To support other fare media types, duplicate the relevant fare_products.txt rows and update the amount and fare_media_id fields accordingly.
Define zones¶
For routes operating under zone-based fares, each stop served by the route is located in a zone. Zones are created in areas.txt as follows:
- Fill area_id with the unique identifier for the zone.
- Fill area_name with the name of the zone.
Consult the documentation for more information on zones.
Reminder
For Translink, buses use flat-rate fares. But SkyTrain and SeaBus use zone fares. Each stop is assigned to one of the three zones: ZN1, ZN2 and ZN3.
- A 1-zone fare is for legs within one zone only (ZN1 to ZN1, ZN2 to ZN2, ZN3 to ZN3)
- A 2-zone fare is for legs that cross only two zones (ZN1 to ZN2, ZN2 to ZN3)
- A 3-zone fare is for legs that cross all three zones (ZN1 to ZN3, passing through ZN2)
Furthermore, there is an additional zone contained within ZN2 called Sea Island, containing Vancouver Airport (YVR), Sea Island Centre, and Templeton stations.
- Journeys that start from Sea Island charge an additional CAD 5.00 over journeys starting from ZN2.
- Journeys that end in Sea Island charge the same amount as journeys ending in ZN2. Journeys that take place entirely within Sea Island are free.
In this example, four areas are created, one per each zone and an additional one for Sea Island. Each zone is assigned a unique identifier (ZN1, ZN2, ZN3, sea_island) as well as their respective name in area_name.
| area_id | area_name |
|---|---|
| ZN1 | Zone 1 - Vancouver |
| ZN2 | Zone 2 - Burnaby, Richmond and North Vancouver |
| ZN3 | Zone 3 - Surrey and Coquitlam |
| sea_island | Sea Island (Vancouver Airport YVR Airport, Sea Island Centre, Templeton) |
Assign stops to zones¶
Each stop from stops.txt needs to be assigned to a zone that contains it. Stop are associated with zones in stop_areas.txt as follows:
- Fill stop_id with the id of the stop from
stops.txt - Fill area_id with the id of the zone from
areas.txt
Consult the documentation for more information on areas.
In this example, each stop in Translink’s service area is assigned to ZN1, ZN2 or ZN3. The Sea Island stops (99901, 99902, 99903) are associated with both ZN2 and sea_island since they exist within both zones. Later in this section, rule_priority will help differentiate between sea_island and ZN2 legs.
| stop_id | area_id |
|---|---|
| 8039 | ZN1 |
| 8066 | ZN2 |
| … | … |
| 99901 | ZN2 |
| 99902 | ZN2 |
| 99903 | ZN2 |
| 99901 | sea_island |
| 99902 | sea_island |
| 99903 | sea_island |
Here's a quick look at stops.txt, showing the stop_ids of some stops that appear in stop_areas.txt:
| stop_id | stop_name |
|---|---|
| 8039 | Waterfront Station @ Platform 2 |
| 8066 | Edmonds Station @ Platform 1 |
| 99901 | YVR-Airport Station @ Canada Line |
| … | … |
Create fare products¶
Just like with Route-Based Fares, fare products for Zone-Based Fares are created in fare_products.txt as follows:
- Fill the fare_product_id column with a unique ID identifying the fare product.
- Fill the fare_product_name column with the rider-facing name of the fare product (e.g., 1-Zone Fare, 2-Zone Fare, 1-Zone Fare Monthly).
- Fill the amount and currency columns with the cost of the fare and its currency (currency codes).
- Fill the fare_media_id column with the fare media where this fare product can be stored and used.
- This is a Foreign Key referencing fare_media_id in
fare_media.txt(Fare Media). - Multiple fare media can be associated with the same fare product, potentially at different prices.
- An empty fare_media_id means that the fare media is unknown.
- This is a Foreign Key referencing fare_media_id in
Consult the documentation for more details on Fare Products.
In this example, a fare product is created for each zone-based fare in fare_products.txt.
- CAD 3.20 for a 1-zone fare: the journey takes place in one zone only.
- CAD 4.65 for a 2-zone fare: the journey crosses from one zone to another.
- CAD 6.35 for a 3-zone fare: the journey crosses from Zone 1, to Zone 2 (or Sea Island), then to Zone 3.
- CAD 8.20 (CAD 5.00 + CAD 3.20) for 1-zone Sea Island fares: From Sea Island to Zone 2.
- CAD 9.65 (CAD 5.00 + CAD 4.65) for 2-zone Sea Island fares: From Sea Island to Zone 1 or Zone 3.
- CAD 0 for journeys that start and end within Sea Island.
| fare_product_id | fare_product_name | amount | currency | fare_media_id |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bus_flat_fare | Bus Flat Fare | 3.20 | CAD | contactless |
| 1_zone_fare | 1-Zone Fare | 3.20 | CAD | contactless |
| 2_zone_fare | 2-Zone Fare | 4.65 | CAD | contactless |
| 3_zone_fare | 3-Zone Fare | 6.35 | CAD | contactless |
| sea_island_1_zone_fare | Sea Island travel + 1-zone Fare | 8.20 | CAD | contactless |
| sea_island_2_zone_fare | Sea Island travel + 2-zone fare | 9.65 | CAD | contactless |
| sea_island_sea_island_fare | Free fare inside Sea Island | 0 | CAD | contactless |
Create networks that group the routes¶
For Zone-Based Fares, the relevant routes need to be grouped together under networks since they have the same fare structure.
Networks are created in networks.txt as follows:
- Fill the network_id column with a unique ID identifying the network.
- Fill the network_name column with the name of the network (e.g., Translink Buses, TTC Subway, STM All Routes).
Consult the documentation for more details on networks.
In Translink’s case, buses were previously separated into their own network (see Route-Based Fares section), since they have a flat fare structure. Similarly, SkyTrain and Seabus will be grouped under one network since their fare depends on the number of crossed zones. A network_id called skytrain_seabus is created.
| network_id | network_name |
|---|---|
| skytrain_seabus | SkyTrain and SeaBus |
Associate routes to networks¶
After creating the network, it needs to be associated with the routes contained by it. Routes are associated with networks in route_networks.txt as follows:
- Fill the route_id column with the ID of the route from
routes.txt. - Fill the network_id column with the ID of the corresponding network from
networks.txt.
Consult the documentation for more details on route networks.
In this example, The route_ids for the SkyTrain routes (Canada Line, Millennium Line, Expo Line) and for the SeaBus are associated with the network_id skytrain_seabus in route_networks.txt. In the snapshot below, 13686 is the route_id for the Canada Line, 30052 is the route_id for the Millennium Line.
| route_id | network_id |
|---|---|
| 13686 | skytrain_seabus |
| 30052 | skytrain_seabus |
| … | … |
Create fare leg rules¶
Reminder
Leg: A single continuous segment of a journey taken on a specific service or route, typically between two stops, with no transfer.
Leg Group: A set of one or more legs that share specific common attributes or fare conditions as defined in the context of the fare_leg_rules.txt file.
The fare of a leg is determined by matching the leg to a fare product using a fare leg rule. For Zone-Based Fares, a fare leg rule associates a network of routes (which was created in networks.txt) operating between zones (defined in areas.txt) to a fare product (which was created in fare_products.txt).
Zone-based fare leg rules are created in fare_leg_rules.txt as follows:
- Fill the leg_group_id column with a unique ID identifying a group of legs.
- Fill the network_id column with the ID of the network associated with the routes covered by the leg.
- This is a Foreign Key referencing network_id in
networks.txt.
- This is a Foreign Key referencing network_id in
- Fill from_area_id with the ID of the zone that the leg departs from.
- Fill to_area_id with the ID of the zone that the leg arrives to.
- Fill the fare_product_id column with the ID of the fare product that determines the cost of the leg.
- This is a Foreign Key referencing fare_product_id in
fare_products.txt.
- This is a Foreign Key referencing fare_product_id in
Consult the documentation for more details on fare leg rules.
In this example, multiple leg groups are added for each possible zone combination. For example, ZN1_ZN1 is the leg that remains within Zone 1 because from_area_id=ZN1 and to_area_id=ZN1. ZN1_ZN1 is associated with fare_product_id=1_zone_fare.
Note that ZN1_ZN2 is listed twice in the example below. It is first associated with (from_area_id=ZN1, to_area_id=ZN2), then with (from_area_id=ZN2, to_area_id=ZN1) in a second line. This means that ZN1_ZN2 represents a leg group whose fare rules match both directions of travel between ZN1 and ZN2.
Note
The example below does not include Sea Island leg rules; these will be addressed in the following step.
| leg_group_id | network_id | fare_product_id | from_area_id | to_area_id |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| … | … | … | ||
| ZN1_ZN1 | skytrain_seabus | 1_zone_fare | ZN1 | ZN1 |
| ZN2_ZN2 | skytrain_seabus | 1_zone_fare | ZN2 | ZN2 |
| ZN3_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | 1_zone_fare | ZN3 | ZN3 |
| ZN1_ZN2 | skytrain_seabus | 2_zone_fare | ZN1 | ZN2 |
| ZN1_ZN2 | skytrain_seabus | 2_zone_fare | ZN2 | ZN1 |
| ZN2_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | 2_zone_fare | ZN2 | ZN3 |
| ZN2_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | 2_zone_fare | ZN3 | ZN2 |
| ZN1_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | 3_zone_fare | ZN1 | ZN3 |
| ZN1_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | 3_zone_fare | ZN3 | ZN1 |
Prioritize overlapping zones¶
In some cases, multiple zones may share the same stop. This can create ambiguity about which zone should be used when applying a fare leg rule to a leg. To resolve this, the rule_priority field is used in fare_leg_rules.txt. It determines the order in which matching rules are applied: rules with higher rule_priority values take precedence over those with lower or empty values.
This is done in fare_leg_rules.txt as follows:
- Create all potential fare leg rules by following the instructions in the previous step.
- Fill rule_priority with the order of priority of the leg. The higher the value of rule_priority, the higher the priority of the fare leg rule.
Consult the documentation for more details on fare leg rules.
In this example, since Sea Island exists inside Zone 2, if a leg starts from Sea Island and ends in Zone 2, is it considered a "Sea Island to Zone 2" leg or a "Zone 2 to Zone 2" leg, or a "Sea Island to Sea Island leg"? In fact, the leg will be matched to all 3 possibilities, which will cause ambiguity.
First, the legs that start from Sea Island are added:
- The legs
sea_island_ZN1andsea_island_ZN3both cost CAD 5.00 + a 2-zone fare. - The leg
sea_island_ZN2costs CAD 5.00 + a 1-zone fare. - The leg
sea_island_sea_islandis free.
Then, rule_priority is filled with the appropriate values:
sea_island_sea_islandhas the highest priority (rule_priority=2). This ensures that if the origin stop and destination stop of a leg are insea_island(inside Zone 2), the prioritized leg issea_island_sea_island- The legs that start from Sea Island and end somewhere else (Zone 1, Zone 3, Zone 2 outside of Sea Island) have
rule_priority=1 - The remaining legs have the lowest priority:
rule_priority=0(or empty)
| leg_group_id | network_id | fare_product_id | from_area_id | to_area_id | rule_priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| … | … | … | |||
| sea_island_ZN1 | skytrain_seabus | sea_island_2_zone_fare | sea_island | ZN1 | 1 |
| sea_island_ZN2 | skytrain_seabus | sea_island_1_zone_fare | sea_island | ZN2 | 1 |
| sea_island_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | sea_island_2_zone_fare | sea_island | ZN3 | 1 |
| sea_island_sea_island | skytrain_seabus | sea_island_sea_island_fare | sea_island | sea_island | 2 |
| ZN1_ZN1 | skytrain_seabus | 1_zone_fare | ZN1 | ZN1 | |
| ZN2_ZN2 | skytrain_seabus | 1_zone_fare | ZN2 | ZN2 | |
| ZN3_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | 1_zone_fare | ZN3 | ZN3 | |
| ZN1_ZN2 | skytrain_seabus | 2_zone_fare | ZN1 | ZN2 | |
| ZN1_ZN2 | skytrain_seabus | 2_zone_fare | ZN2 | ZN1 | |
| ZN2_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | 2_zone_fare | ZN2 | ZN3 | |
| ZN2_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | 2_zone_fare | ZN3 | ZN2 | |
| ZN1_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | 3_zone_fare | ZN1 | ZN3 | |
| ZN1_ZN3 | skytrain_seabus | 3_zone_fare | ZN3 | ZN1 |