Fare - Unchin (English spelling) fare

It is a payment made as compensation for transportation based on a transportation contract between a transportation service provider and a user. Generally, the compensation for a service is called a "price," but in the case of transportation services, it is simply called a "fare," and there is no essential difference between the two.

However, it is said that there is a clear difference between "fare" and "charge." A fare is the basic price for transportation, and transportation services cannot be used without paying the fare. On the other hand, a charge is understood as the price for a service that accompanies the basic transportation service. For example, express train fares, reserved seat fees, and sleeper fares fall into this category. Therefore, even if you pay the express fare, you cannot use the transportation service without paying the fare. From the above, express train fares cannot be called express fares, and taxi fares should strictly be called taxi fares.

Traditionally, passenger fares were determined based on the full-cost approach. This is a method of setting fares equal to the full-cost approach, which is the sum of fair costs and fair profits. In order to determine fare levels, fair remuneration regulations were often applied, which multiply the net asset value by a fair remuneration rate and add this to expenses as fair profits. However, this method had problems such as not stimulating business efforts by companies, so fare regulations were later relaxed and the idea of ​​full-cost approach is now in decline.

Fares are considered to be one of the so-called public utility charges, and since they are directly related to the lives of the people, any increase or decrease in fares attracts a lot of public attention. In addition, changes to fare systems and fare levels have a large macroeconomic impact, so the government sometimes intervenes in their decisions. Conversely, because of their great influence, fares are often used as a tool for political battles, such as the Diet's turmoil over the previous revision of fares for the Japanese National Railways (at the time, the National Railways' fares required a Diet resolution to be decided).

With the deregulation of transport services since the 1990s, regulations on fares have also been relaxed. For example, fares that were strictly based on total costs have been replaced by maximum fare systems (railways, buses), and fare range systems have been abolished (airlines). However, in many cases, fares are generally subject to the reservation that the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism may change them.

[Kenzo Takeuchi]

"The Structure of Transportation Market Policy" by Takahiko Saito (1991, Chuo Keizaisha) " "Transportation Economics" by Hirotaka Yamauchi and Kenzo Takeuchi (2002, Yuhikaku)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

交通サービスの提供者と利用者との運送契約に基づき、運送の対価として支払われるもの。一般的にサービスの対価は「価格」とよばれるが、それが交通サービスにおいては「運賃」とよばれるにすぎず、両者の間には本質的な違いはない。

　しかし、「運賃」と「料金」には明確な違いがあるとされる。運賃は輸送に対する基本的な対価であり、運賃の支払いがなければ交通サービスは利用できない。一方、料金は基本的な交通サービスに付随するサービスへの対価と理解される。たとえば、列車の特急料金、座席指定料金、寝台料金などがこれに該当する。したがって、特急料金の支払いをしても、運賃を支払わないときは交通サービスを利用することはできない。以上の整理から、特急料金は特急運賃とはよばれないし、タクシー料金は厳密にはタクシー運賃とするのが正しい。

　従来、旅客運賃は総括原価主義に基づいて決定されていた。これは適正な原価に適正な利潤を加えた総括原価に等しく運賃を設定する方式である。そして運賃水準決定のために、正味の資産価値に公正報酬率をかけ、それを適正な利潤として費用に加えるという公正報酬率規制が、多くの場合に適用されていた。しかし、この方法は企業の経営努力を刺激しないという問題点などがあり、その後運賃規制は緩和され、現在では総括原価主義の考え方は後退している。

　運賃は、いわゆる公共料金の一つとされ、国民生活に直結するものとして、その値上げや値下げについては世間の注目が高い。また運賃体系や運賃水準の変更はマクロ経済的にも大きな影響を与えるために、その決定については政府からの介入を受けることがある。逆にいえば、その影響力の大きさから、以前の国鉄運賃改定における国会の紛糾（国鉄運賃の決定には当時国会の議決を必要とした）など、運賃が政争の具とされることも多い。

　1990年代以降の交通サービスの規制緩和によって、運賃に関する規制も緩和された。たとえば、総括原価に厳密に基づいていた運賃は上限運賃制に移行し（鉄道、乗合バス）、幅運賃制が撤廃された（航空）。しかし、多くの場合、国土交通大臣が運賃を変更できるという留保条件がついているのが一般的である。

［竹内健蔵］

『斎藤峻彦著『交通市場政策の構造』（1991・中央経済社）』▽『山内弘隆・竹内健蔵著『交通経済学』（2002・有斐閣）』

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