Farebox recovery ratio
Okay, let's pretend you're playing a game where you sell stickers. You buy a pack of stickers for $2, then sell each sticker for $1. If you sell all 10 stickers, you will make $10, but you spent $2 on stickers, so you only get to keep $8.
That's kind of like what happens with buses and trains. People pay money to ride them, but it costs money to operate them (like paying the driver, fuel, maintenance, etc.). The ratio of how much money is coming in from fares compared to how much money it costs to run the bus or train is called the farebox recovery ratio.
So, if a bus service has a farebox recovery ratio of 50%, that means that for every $1 spent on running the bus, they are earning 50 cents from fares. That's like if you spent $2 on stickers and only sold enough to earn $1, so you only made back 50% of what you spent.
Farebox recovery ratio is important because it tells us how much of the cost of running public transportation is being covered by people who ride it. If the ratio is low and the government is paying for most of it, they may need to make some changes to improve the system or increase fares.
That's kind of like what happens with buses and trains. People pay money to ride them, but it costs money to operate them (like paying the driver, fuel, maintenance, etc.). The ratio of how much money is coming in from fares compared to how much money it costs to run the bus or train is called the farebox recovery ratio.
So, if a bus service has a farebox recovery ratio of 50%, that means that for every $1 spent on running the bus, they are earning 50 cents from fares. That's like if you spent $2 on stickers and only sold enough to earn $1, so you only made back 50% of what you spent.
Farebox recovery ratio is important because it tells us how much of the cost of running public transportation is being covered by people who ride it. If the ratio is low and the government is paying for most of it, they may need to make some changes to improve the system or increase fares.