San Francisco's subway is so packed it paid people to not commute at rush hour
The six-month trial is over, and the results are mixed, as The Atlantic's CityLab reports.
First, the good news: About 18,000 people participated in the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Perks program, well above agency's estimates.
On the downside, an average of 250 passengers actually shifted their commute to miss the 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. rush hour, when BART turns into a sardine can on rails. Of the 2,600 Perks participants who used to ride during peak time, 10% made the switch after the Perks launch.
So while the program had wide reach, relatively few took advantage of it.
The experiment, which lasted from the end of August 2016 through February 2017, is based on the economic theory of nudging, "wherein even a small reward can lead to adjustments in behavior," according to a statement from BART.
The program was surprisingly complicated, which may have turned off enrollees. Upon launch, it required a four-page Frequently Asked Questions document to fully explain how it worked. Plus, the payout was marginal.
The Perks program awarded points per mile traveled on BART during "bonus hours," which occurred on weekdays during the hours before and after peak time. Participants were assigned a status - bronze, silver, gold, or platinum - based on how they often traveled during bonus hours. A thousand points could be exchanged for $1.
On average, riders made just $3 per month.
BART is in the process of completely a full analysis of the program, which will help it determine where it goes from here. In a statement, the agency said it hoped to better target individuals who are frequent riders during rush hour to reduce crowding.