Productivity Frequency Index

1997 ◽  
Vol 1571 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Time Of Day ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Transit Service ◽  
Milwaukee County ◽  
Frequency Index ◽  
Route Segment ◽  
Bus Service

The frequency of bus service on a specific route is directly related to the number of passengers using the route. Routes that exhibit high ridership should be provided frequent service, whereas routes with low ridership should be provided less frequent service. The productivity frequency index used by the Milwaukee County Transit System quantitatively measures the relationships between ridership demand and the frequency of service for each bus route both by route segment and by time of day. Use of this measure assists the transit system in equitably allocating the supply of transit service between individual routes, thereby resulting in more effective and efficient operations.

Comparison of Two Common Approaches to Public Transit Service Equity Evaluation

2015 ◽  
Vol 2531 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Karner ◽  
Aaron Golub
Keyword(s):  
Census Data ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
Transit System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Transit Service ◽  
Transit Ridership ◽  
Data Source ◽  
Equity Evaluation ◽  
Equity Effects ◽  
Service Change

Understanding the equity effects of transit service changes requires good information about the demographics of transit ridership. Onboard survey data and census data can be used to estimate equity effects, although there is no clear reason to conclude that these two sources will lead to the same findings. Guidance from the FTA recommends the use of either of these data sources to estimate equity impacts. This study made a direct comparison of the two methods for the public transit system in the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area. The results indicated that although both sources were acceptable for FTA compliance, the use of one or the other could affect whether a proposed service change was deemed equitable. In other words, the outcome of a service change equity analysis could differ as a result of the data source used. To ensure the integrity and meaning of such analyses, FTA should recommend the collection and use of ridership data for conducting service change analyses to supplement approaches that are based on census data.

Usage, Impacts, and Benefits of Innovative Transit Pass Program

1998 ◽  
Vol 1618 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Meyer ◽  
Edward A. Beimborn
Keyword(s):  
Transit System ◽  
University Of Wisconsin ◽  
Milwaukee County ◽  
Successful Program ◽  
Pass Program ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
The University

An evaluation of an innovative transit program, UPASS, is summarized. UPASS provides unlimited use of the Milwaukee County Transit System at any time and any place and for any purpose for all students enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The pass program, paid for by a special fee attached to students’ tuition, was implemented in fall 1994 and was extensively evaluated to determine its impact on ridership and other factors and to determine whether the concept has the potential for transfer to other organizations and employers. Benefits and disbenefits to transit users, nonusers, employers, and transit agencies are described. In addition, elements of a successful program are outlined.

scholarly journals Not Minding the Gap: Does Ride-Hailing Serve Transit Deserts?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus Barajas ◽  
Anne Brown
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Service Needs ◽  
Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Transit Service ◽  
Employment Density ◽  
Bus Service ◽  
The City ◽  
Rail Service ◽  
Research And Policy

Transit has long connected people to opportunities but access to transit varies greatly across space. In some cases, unevenly distributed transit supply creates gaps in service that impede travelers’ abilities to cross space and access jobs or other opportunities. With the advent of ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, however, travelers now have a new potential to gain automobility without high car purchase costs and in the absence of reliable transit service. Research remains mixed on whether ride-hailing serves as a modal complement or substitute to transit or whether ride-hailing fills transit service needs gaps. This study measures transit supply in Chicago and compares it to ride-hailing origins and destinations to examine if ride-hailing fills existing transit service gaps. Findings reveal clustering of ride-hailing pickups and drop-offs across the City of Chicago, but that the number of ride-hailing pickups and drop-offs was most strongly associated with high neighborhood median household income rather than measures of transit supply. In bivariate analyses, transit service was not associated with ride-hailing trip ends. But after controlling for neighborhood socioeconomic status, transit dependency, population density, and employment density, we found fewer ride-hailing trips in neighborhoods where bus service dominated and significantly more ride-hailing trips where rail service was prevalent. Patterns were slightly different for overnight weekend ride-hailing pick-ups, where higher transit density predicted a greater number of trips in nearby tracts. Additional research and policy is needed to ensure that ride-hailing services provide travel options to those who need them the most and fill transit gaps in low-income communities when options to increase service are limited.

Modeling Long-Range Transportation and Land Use Scenarios with Citizen-Generated Policies in the Sacramento, California, Region

2005 ◽  
Vol 1902 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-106
Author(s):  
Robert A. Johnston ◽  
Shengyi Gao ◽  
Michael J. Clay
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Pricing Policy ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Planning Agency ◽  
Reduce Emissions ◽  
Bus Service ◽  
High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes

The Sacramento, California, region has been engaged in an innovative long-range visioning process in 2004 and 2005; the regional transportation planning agency is defining and modeling several 50-year growth scenarios. The authors worked with environmental and social equity citizens’ groups to define policies that would reduce emissions, serve lower-income travelers better, and preserve habitats and agricultural lands in the region. The citizens’ groups rejected the new freeways planned for the region as well as the substantial freeway widenings for high-occupancy vehicle lanes. In addition, they defined a more ambitious transit system, involving new bus rapid transit lines and shorter headways for all rail and bus service. This transit-only plan was modeled by itself and along with a land use policy for an urban growth boundary and a pricing policy for higher fuel taxes and parking charges for work trips. A new version of the MEPLAN model was used to simulate these scenarios over 50 years, and findings about total travel, mode shares, congestion, emissions, land use changes, and economic welfare of travelers are described.

Assessing Transit Changes in Columbus, Ohio, and Sacramento, California

2005 ◽  
Vol 1930 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Schumann
Keyword(s):  
Federal Funding ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
Bus Transit ◽  
The Past ◽  
Voter Approval ◽  
Capital Funding ◽  
Bus Service

This paper compares the changes experienced by transit systems in two state capitals of similar size: Columbus, Ohio, and Sacramento, California. Over the past two decades, Sacramento added a light rail transit (LRT) starter line and experienced significant ridership growth on its multimodal rail and bus system, while Columbus remained all-bus and experienced a decline in patronage. Reasons underlying the divergent performances of these two systems are analyzed and discussed. It is concluded that, in Sacramento, willing political leadership took good advantage of a one-time opportunity for federal funding to build an LRT starter line; that adding LRT made transit more visible and effective and encouraged voter approval of additional local operating and capital funding; and that all of this resulted in a synergy that attracted more riders to the total LRT and bus transit system and led to extension of the rail system to a third corridor in 2003. Although planning for LRT was begun in Columbus during these same years, a serious interruption in the flow of local funds hampered transit development, required cuts in bus service, and prevented development of that region's planned LRT line. Columbus currently has an LRT project in preliminary engineering, and recent reports suggest a consensus to proceed may be emerging.

Opting Out of Transit: How Does Strong Local Autonomy Impact Allocation of Transit Service in a Multi-Jurisdictional Transit Agency? A Historical Case Study Analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 1087724X2097304
Author(s):  
David Weinreich ◽  
Ahmad Bonakdar
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Historical Case Study ◽  
Study Analysis ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Transit Service ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
The Impact

This study examines how the voluntary nature of local membership in transportation agencies can impact resource allocation, drawing on details from a major US transit agency in a state that lets cities opt in or out of transit agency membership. This study finds significant correlation between local opt-outs and transit service using national data. This study examines the impact opt-outs have on transit resource allocation and decision making over time, their effect on transit service over decades, and equity implications, using historical case study analysis from the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system (DART). This study concludes that authorizing legislation allowing local jurisdictions to opt out of transit districts weakens planning capacity, creates a structure making it difficult to allocate scarce transit dollars based on transit need and social equity goals, instead favoring allocation based on satisfying each municipality.

Travel Behavior Reactions to Transit Service Disruptions

2017 ◽  
Vol 2649 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanjiang Zhu ◽  
Hamza Masud ◽  
Chenfeng Xiong ◽  
Zhuo Yang ◽  
Yixuan Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Travel Behavior ◽  
Behavioral Reactions ◽  
Transit System ◽  
System Failures ◽  
Transit Service ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Aging Infrastructure ◽  
Infrastructure System ◽  
Network Disruptions ◽  
System Impact

Major transit infrastructure disruptions have become more frequent because of increasing maintenance needs for aging infrastructure, system failures, and disasters. Understanding travel behavior reactions to service disruptions on the basis of empirical observations is a fundamental step toward planning and operating an efficient and reliable transportation system. Few studies in the literature have investigated the behavioral and system impact of transit service disruptions. To bridge this gap in the literature, this research investigated travel behavioral reactions to transit service disruptions during the Metro SafeTrack projects in Washington, D.C., with the use of a unique panel survey. This study offers new insights on multimodal, multidimensional travel behavioral responses to major transit network disruptions, a critically theoretical prerequisite for developing and implementing effective strategies (e.g., how to deploy the reserve bus fleet optimally) that minimize system impact and improve transit system reliability and resilience.

Adapting Procurement Models for Electric Buses in Latin America

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (10) ◽  
pp. 175-184
Author(s):  
Jone Orbea ◽  
Sebastian Castellanos ◽  
Cristina Albuquerque ◽  
Ryan Sclar ◽  
Berta Pinheiro
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Charging Infrastructure ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Bus Service ◽  
Bus Services ◽  
Fleet Deployment

Bus services are a fundamental component of transportation networks in Latin America, but buses often account for a disproportionately large number of environmental externalities. Electric buses (e-buses) are emerging as an effective and pragmatic option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and local pollutants. However, e-buses are difficult to procure in Latin America because of existing procurement challenges in the region, especially as those challenges relate to forming contracts to deal with high upfront costs and unknown risks. To overcome these procurement issues, this paper presents a new contractual model, based on literature and case study research. This new model suggests the separation of bus service responsibilities into three separate actors: multiple bus procurement companies, one or multiple bus depots and charging infrastructure companies, and multiple bus operating companies. By separating bus service responsibilities, the proposed model would bring about three concrete improvements: lower costs to the transit system, better quality of service, and lower-emission fleet deployment.

Study on the Characteristics of the Bus Trip of the Elders in Nanjing

2014 ◽  
Vol 587-589 ◽  
pp. 1840-1853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan Yu Yang ◽  
Yuan Ming Liao ◽  
Shi Yu Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Logit Model ◽  
Free Choice ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Senior Citizens ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Travel Patterns ◽  
Estimation Model ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Common Problems ◽  
Bus Service

The aged tendency of population in Nanjing has become more and more serious. As an important part of the elders’ daily life, bus trip deserves a close examination from different perspectives and in different ways. In order to understand the travel patterns and the use of the city’s transit system of the senior citizens in Nanjing, this paper conducts a survey on the elderly. Analyses yield the overall travel characteristics, travel frequencies, and the main travel modes of the elderly in Nanjing. The rules of variation of elders’ travel behaviors with age and the choice of the main travel modes of the elderly in 20 years have been analyzed and predicted. Taking convenience, cost, speed, comfort, safety and free choice of travel time as the influencing factors, the estimation model is developed by binomial Logit model. Besides, in order to solve some common problems in bus service, we put forward some suggestions referred to other districts, as well as having an outlook of the bus service in the future.

scholarly journals Measuring Cost Variability in Provision of Transit Service

2000 ◽  
Vol 1735 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Taylor ◽  
Mark Garrett ◽  
Hiroyuki Iseki
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Cost Allocation ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Allocation Model ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Transit Service ◽  
Cost Variability ◽  
Time Of Travel

The cost of producing public-transit service is not uniform but varies by trip type (e.g., local or express), trip length, time of travel, and direction of travel, among other factors. However, the models employed by public-transit operators to estimate costs typically do not account for this variation. The exclusion of cost variability in most transit-cost-allocation models has long been noted in the literature, particularly with respect to time-of-day variations in costs. This analysis addresses many of the limitations of cost-allocation models typically used in practice by developing a set of models that account for marginal variations in vehicle-passenger capacity, capital costs, and time-of-day costs. FY 1994 capital and operating data are used for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). This analysis is unique in that it combines a number of previously and separately proposed improvements to cost-allocation models. In comparison with the model currently used by the Los Angeles MTA, it was found that the models developed for this analysis estimate ( a) higher peak costs and off-peak costs, ( b) significant cost variation by mode, and ( c) lower costs for incremental additions in service. The focus is on the limitations of the rudimentary cost-allocation models employed by most transit operators and not on the Los Angeles MTA per se. This analysis found that an array of factors addressed separately in the literature can be incorporated simultaneously and practically into a usable cost-allocation model to provide transit systems with far better information about the highly variable costs of producing service.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document