scholarly journals City Best Practices to Improve Transit Operations and Safety

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle DeRobertis ◽  
Christopher E. Ferrell ◽  
Richard W. Lee ◽  
David Moore
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Land Development ◽  
Metropolitan Planning ◽  
Passenger Safety ◽  
Municipal Policies ◽  
Transit Services ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
The City ◽  
Policies And Practices

Public, fixed-route transit services most commonly operate on public streets. In addition, transit passengers must use sidewalks to access transit stops and stations. However, streets and sidewalks are under the jurisdiction of municipalities, not transit agencies. Various municipal policies, practices, and decisions affect transit operations, rider convenience, and passenger safety. Thus, these government entities have an important influence over the quality, safety, and convenience of transit services in their jurisdictions. This research identified municipal policies and practices that affect public transport providers’ ability to deliver transit services. They were found from a comprehensive literature review, interviews and discussions with five local transit agencies in the U.S., five public transportation experts and staff from five California cities. The city policies and practices identified fall into the following five categories: Infrastructure for buses, including bus lanes, signal treatments, curbside access; Infrastructure for pedestrians walking and bicycling to, and waiting at, transit stops and stations; Internal transportation planning policies and practices; Land development review policies; Regional and metropolitan planning organization (MPO) issues. The understanding, acknowledgment, and implementation of policies and practices identified in this report can help municipalities proactively work with local transit providers to more efficiently and effectively operate transit service and improve passenger comfort and safety on city streets.

scholarly journals Measuring when Uber behaves as a substitute or complement to transit: An examination of travel-time differences in Toronto

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mischa Young ◽  
Jeff Allen ◽  
Steven Farber
Keyword(s):  
Travel Time ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Gap Filling ◽  
Service Levels ◽  
Transit Service ◽  
Logistic Regressions ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The City

Policymakers in cities worldwide are trying to determine how ride-hailing services affect the ridership of traditional forms of public transportation. The level of convenience and comfort that these services provide is bound to take riders away from transit, but by operating in areas, or at times, when transit is less frequent, they may also be filling a gap left vacant by transit operations. These contradictory effects reveal why we should not merely categorize all ride-hailing services as a substitute or supplement to transit, and demonstrate the need to examine ride-hailing trips individually. Using data from the 2016 Transportation Tomorrow Survey in Toronto, we investigate the differences in travel-times between observed ride-hailing trips and their fastest transit alternatives. Ordinary least squares and ordered logistic regressions are used to uncover the characteristics that influence travel-time differences. We find that ride-hailing trips contained within the City of Toronto, pursued during peak hours, or for shopping purposes, are more likely to have transit alternatives of similar duration. Also, we find differences in travel-time often to be caused by transfers and lengthy walk- and wait-times for transit. Our results further indicate that 31% of ride-hailing trips in our sample have transit alternatives of similar duration (≤ 15 minute difference). These are particularly damaging for transit agencies as they compete directly with services that fall within reasonable expectations of transit service levels. We also find that 27% of ride-hailing trips would take at least 30 minutes longer by transit, evidence for significant gap-filling opportunity of ride-hailing services. In light of these findings, we discuss recommendations for ride-hailing taxation structures.

scholarly journals A literature review on park-and-rides

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antora Mohsena Haque ◽  
Candace Brakewood ◽  
Shahrbanoo Rezaei ◽  
Anahita Khojandi
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Network Equilibrium ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Demand Models ◽  
Transit Services ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
American Cities

American cities have been implementing park-and-rides (PNRs) since the 1930s; however, there has been a recent resurgence of literature examining this type of transit station. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the current literature on PNRs and directions for future research. PNR studies published in the last ten years were reviewed and text mining was applied to extract key themes. Six themes were identified. The two most common areas of research were network equilibrium and optimization (12 of 37 studies) and demand models (8 of 37 studies). This was followed by guidelines and best practices as well as comparative studies (6 of 37 studies each). Parking utilization had the fewest number of recent studies (3 of 37 studies). This review revealed that the majority of PNR studies were conducted in geographic areas with extensive transit services, most studies have focused on rail-based PNRs, and the most widely used method was multinomial logit. Some areas for future research include studying remote PNRs, examining bus-based PNRs, and assessing the impact of emerging modes on PNR utilization. This systematic review could assist planners and transit agencies in further improving sustainable PNR networks in their cities.

Transportation for evacuations: The variation in planning between urban and rural cities

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Natalie Easterday, BS
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Emergency Operation ◽  
City Size ◽  
Evacuation Planning ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
The City

A city’s emergency operation plan (EOP) establishes the framework for which all disaster-related activities will be administered. Seven communities’ EOPs were assessed to explore potential planning differences between urban and rural cities. Four urban and three rural communities were selected from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions V, VII, and VIII. The EOPs of the selected cities were evaluated against a comprehensive list of questions that explored pre-evacuation planning, operations, roles and responsibilities, communication, and postevacuation return. Within each category, the questions probed for the roles of public transportation in disaster situations. The results yielded several parallels between urban and rural communities in general evacuation planning, and these differences were not based on the city size. From this information, six suggested best practices were developed regarding the role of public transportation in emergency management.

Coordination of Transit and School Busing in Iowa

2005 ◽  
Vol 1927 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-10
Author(s):  
Dennis Kroeger ◽  
Steve Andrle ◽  
Peter Hallock
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
State University ◽  
School Transportation ◽  
School Busing ◽  
Transit Services ◽  
Maintenance Systems ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Transportation Research

The 2003 Iowa General Assembly asked the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct a study of Iowa public policy on coordination of public transit services and school transportation. The legislature's request, contained in the transportation appropriation bill, required “a report pertaining to the efficiencies that may be gained by the coordination of transit management and maintenance systems in the areas of school transportation, public transit, and other forms of public transportation.” Such efficiencies are described. As requested by the Iowa DOT, the Center for Transportation Research and Education at Iowa State University studied these issues and prepared a report for the Office of Public Transit. A summary of the coordination activities that are taking place in Iowa between the school districts and transit agencies is presented. Furthermore, the levels of coordination and what benefits are derived from coordinating services are discussed. The objectives of the study include the following: to examine the legal basis for such coordination in Iowa; to inventory the types of coordination taking place around the state; and to highlight some of the coordination models, with a discussion of what each party believes are the benefits of the coordination as well as obstacles that have been encountered.

scholarly journals A Case Study of Bus Line Passenger Volumes of Bakrajo Bus Lines in Sulaimani City

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
Barez Mohammed Salih ◽  
Hirsh Muhammad Majid ◽  
Chro Haidar Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Flow Distribution ◽  
Peak Time ◽  
City Center ◽  
Planning Decisions ◽  
Passenger Volume ◽  
Residential District ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
The City

Transit agencies constantly need information about system operations and passengers to support their regular scheduling and operation planning processes. The lack of these processes and cultural motivations to use public transportations contributes enormously to the reliance on the private cars rather than public transportation, resulting in traffic congestions. The traffic congestions occur mainly during peak hours and the accidents happening as a result of road accidents and construction works.  This study investigates the effects of weekday and weekend travel variability on peak hours of the passenger flow distribution on bus lines, which can effectively reflect the degree of traffic congestion. A study of passenger traffic flow patterns during these times can impact planning decisions on transportation engineers. It can be viewed as a building block for generating a reliable schedule for a given bus route within the context of an optimization process.  Collecting data sets of a two-directional bus line in Sulaimani city, connecting a residential district to the city center, for three days (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday), and this study analyzed the flow and distribution of weekday and weekend passenger movements along with the bus stops of each direction on-peak and off-peak periods. The results indicate that Thursday passenger volume is more similar to Friday passenger volume than on Wednesday passenger volume. The passenger volume of direction D1 (from the residential district to the city center) is double that of direction D2 (from the city center to the residential district). The maximum morning peak time is on Wednesday with 442 passengers/hr, starting from 7:30 to 9:00, and the maximum evening peak hour is on Thursday with 420 passengers/hr, beginning from 14:30 to 16:30.

scholarly journals Measuring when Uber behaves as a substitute or complement to transit: An examination of travel-time differences in Toronto

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mischa Young ◽  
Jeff Allen ◽  
Steven Farber
Keyword(s):  
Travel Time ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Wait Times ◽  
Ordinary Least Square ◽  
Logistic Regressions ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The City

Policymakers in cities worldwide are trying to determine how ride-hailing services affect the ridership of traditional forms of public transportation. The level of convenience and comfort that these services provide is bound to take riders away from transit, but by operating in areas, or at times, when transit is less frequent, they may also be filling a gap left vacant by transit operations. These contradictory effects reveal why we should not merely categorize ride-hailing services as a substitute or complement to transit, and demonstrate the need to examine ride-hailing trips individually. Using data from the 2016 Transportation Tomorrow Survey in Toronto, we investigate the difference in travel-time between observed ride-hailing trips and their fastest transit alternative. Ordinary least square and ordered logistic regressions are used to uncover the characteristics that influence travel-time differences. We find that ride-hailing trips contained within the City of Toronto, pursued during peak hours, or for shopping purposes, are more likely to have transit alternatives of similar duration. We also find discrepancies in travel-time to be often caused by lengthy walk- and wait-times for transit or because of transfers. Our results further indicate that 30.61% of ride-hailing trips in our sample have transit alternatives of similar duration. These are particularly damaging for transit agencies as they compete directly with services that fall within reasonable transit expectations. We also find that 26.87% of ride-hailing trips would take at least 30 minutes longer by transit. In light of these findings, we discuss recommendations for ride-hailing taxation structures.

Spatial and Temporal Differences in Weekday Travel Durations Between Private-for-Hire Transportation Services and Transit in the City Center

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110197
Author(s):  
Baxter Shandobil ◽  
Ty Lazarchik ◽  
Kelly Clifton
Keyword(s):  
Transportation Network ◽  
Central City ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
City Center ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Transit Services ◽  
Level Information ◽  
The City

There is increasing evidence that ridehailing and other private-for-hire (PfH) services such as taxis and limousines are diverting trips from transit services. One question that arises is where and when PfH services are filling gaps in transit services and where they are competing with transit services that are publicly subsidized. Using weekday trip-level information for trips originating in or destined for the city center of Portland, OR from PfH transportation services (taxis, transportation network companies, limousines) and transit trip data collected from OpenTripPlanner, this study investigated the temporal and spatial differences in travel durations between actual PfH trips and comparable transit trips (the same origin–destination and time of day). This paper contributes to this question and to a growing body of research about the use of ridehailing and other on-demand services. Specifically, it provides a spatial and temporal analysis of the demand for PfH transportation using an actual census of trips for a given 2 week period. The comparison of trip durations of actual PfH trips to hypothetical transit trips for the same origin–destination pairs into or out of the central city gives insights for policy making around pricing and other regulatory frameworks that could be implemented in time and space.

scholarly journals Selecting Freight Transportation Modes in Last-Mile Urban Distribution in Pamplona (Spain): An Option for Drone Delivery in Smart Cities

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4748
Author(s):  
Adrian Serrano-Hernandez ◽  
Aitor Ballano ◽  
Javier Faulin
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Freight Transportation ◽  
City Center ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Freight Logistics ◽  
Transportation Modes ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Urban Distribution ◽  
The City

Urban distribution in medium-sized cities faces a major challenge, mainly when deliveries are difficult in the city center due to: an increase of e-commerce, weak public transportation system, and the promotion of urban sustainability plans. As a result, private cars, public transportation, and freight transportation compete for the same space. This paper analyses the current state for freight logistics in the city center of Pamplona (Spain) and proposes alternative transportation routes and transportation modes in the last-mile city center distribution according to different criteria evaluated by residents. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was developed. A number of alternatives have been assessed considering routes and transportation modes: the shortest route criterion and avoiding some city center area policies are combined with traditional van-based, bike, and aerial (drone) distribution protocols for delivering parcels and bar/restaurant supplies. These alternatives have been evaluated within a multicriteria framework in which economic, environmental, and social objectives are considered at the same time. The point in this multicriteria framework is that the criteria/alternative AHP weights and priorities have been set according to a survey deployed in the city of Pamplona (Navarre, Spain). The survey and AHP results show the preference for the use of drone or bike distribution in city center in order to reduce social and environmental issues.

Measuring Benefits of Rural and Small Urban Transit in Greater Minnesota

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812199001
Author(s):  
Jeremy Mattson ◽  
Del Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Labor Income ◽  
Urban Transit ◽  
Societal Benefits ◽  
Transit Services ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
Benefit Cost

The objective of this research was to measure the benefits of rural and small urban transit services in Minnesota. The study accomplished this by first identifying, describing, and classifying the potential benefits of transit. Second, a method was developed to measure these benefits. Where possible, benefits were quantified in dollar values. Other benefits that could not be quantified in monetary terms were either quantified in another way or described qualitatively. The study included an analysis of societal benefits and economic impacts within local communities. Third, the developed method was applied to a series of six case studies across Greater Minnesota. Data were collected through onboard rider surveys for each of the six transit agencies. Total benefits and benefit-cost ratios were estimated for the six transit agencies—all showed benefits that exceeded costs—and results were generalized to Greater Minnesota. Economic impacts were also estimated showing the effect on jobs, labor income, and value added. This research provides information to assess the benefits of public spending on transit, which gives decision makers the data needed to inform investment decisions.

The Youth Pass

2017 ◽  
Vol 2652 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Thistle ◽  
Laurel Paget-Seekins
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Attrition Rate ◽  
Massachusetts Bay ◽  
Local Municipalities ◽  
Pass Program ◽  
Transit Agencies ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Transportation Agencies ◽  
Adequate Data

Public transportation agencies provide reduced fares to seniors, students, and disabled people, but only infrequently provide discounts to low-income members of the general population. A major reason for this is that it is difficult and labor-intensive for transit agencies to determine who is of low income. To address societal need and pilot the feasibility of such a program, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) piloted a program for young people who were unable to receive reduced fares in another way. The MBTA partnered with local municipalities, and applicants proved their eligibility for the program through partner offices. The research requirements in the program provided adequate data to evaluate the effects of the program, but the requirements themselves negatively affected participation and attrition in the pilot. The ways the research affected participation are explored in detail, particularly the attrition rate of subjects throughout the study. It was found that the research requirements disproportionately affected those of very low income as well as African-American and Hispanic participants. Using the data from the pilot, the MBTA decided to implement a full youth pass program benefiting those populations without the barriers of the pilot.

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