The Monocle Minute

Short of a few yen in Kyoto last year, I pleaded with a bus driver but to no avail: correct fare or no ride. Luckily, I found some loose change in my pocket. Japan’s firm approach stands in stark contrast to North America’s. People routinely jump turnstiles, rush through behind paying passengers, dash past bus drivers and ignore honour systems. Last year a blue-ribbon panel commissioned by New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority found that fare evasion cost the system nearly $644m (€600m) in 2022. As recently as the 2010s, some 95 per cent of riders in Seattle paid their fare but that figure has since plummeted to 55 per cent. This free-for-all atmosphere has turned riding big-city public transport in the US into an unnerving experience.

Hoping to win back paying passengers, many cities are taking a harder line. Last year, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington began installing tougher fare gates. Other cities are having second thoughts about operating open-access systems. More than 10 years after Vancouver installed fare gates, St Louis has become the first city to do so this decade – an effort that Calgary and Seattle are considering too.

Across Europe, it’s common for fare collectors to check proof of payment and issue fines to non-ticketed passengers. But unwillingness in the US to enforce rules consistently is sabotaging the country’s transit systems. Cities have shirked fare enforcement over concerns that some demographics would be disproportionately affected. Transit leaders need to stand firm behind a basic fairness principle: when enforcement is conducted even-handedly – everyone is checked and everyone is fined or denied boarding if they don’t pay – there are no grounds for alleging bias.

US transit is facing a harsh reality. Today there are still between 20 and 25 per cent fewer riders on public transport than there were five years ago and the last pandemic-related emergency-relief funds expire this year. To keep the trains and buses running on time, transit systems must insist that passengers pay their fair share by paying the fare.

Gregory Scruggs is Monocle’s Seattle correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

As demand for booze decreases in bars, pubs and izakayas across the developed world, one of Japan’s oldest beer giants is making a pivot into health and beauty. Kirin Holdings is expected to take full ownership of Fancl, a major Japanese cosmetics brand known across East Asia for its skincare label and shops.

Today the company holds a 33 per cent stake in Fancl; hoping to reduce its reliance on alcoholic drinks for revenue, Kirin will acquire the remaining shares this year for a total of ¥220bn (€1.3bn). The Tokyo-based beverage company acquired Australian vitamins and supplements company Blackmores for ¥165.9bn (€977m) last year but still has a long way to go before it can turn off the taps entirely. More than 30 per cent of its annual revenue comes from its lucrative beer and spirits business, while its comparatively small health-sciences business is currently in the red.

Portland International Airport (PDX) has invited thousands of volunteers to a dress-rehearsal day ahead of the reopening of its main terminal. On 3 August it will hold a live simulation to test the redesigned space’s new features and identify any areas that still need improving. The volunteers will act out scenarios including checking in, going through security and waiting to embark on flights. They will get to preview multiple new features: upgraded check-in counters, a streamlined security process, improved security stations, art exhibits close to eating areas and more.

“The terminal redesign is a very welcome improvement for Portland but, for those of us who have passed through the airport over the years, the best news is the return of its signature teal carpet,” Gabriel Leigh, Monocle’s transport correspondent, tells The Monocle Minute. “It’s an odd detail but it’s also iconic and really defined PDX in years past.” The airport’s decision to run such a simulation is a smart move: other transport hubs across the globe making similar large-scale improvements should take note.

The Monocle team reflects on Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design festival. We visit the Danish capital’s showrooms, galleries and exhibitions, where a host of leading designers and brands are presenting their latest and greatest wares. We hear from the likes of Kasper Simonsen, Maria Bruun, Bill Amberg and Paula Day.