United States Department of Transportation
i
Suburban transit opportunities study.
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2005-01-01
[PDF-1.49 MB]
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Abstract:Providing successful suburban transit service is not an easy task. With the vast majority of work and non-work related trips being made by automobiles and land use policies that generally do not support conventional transit service, providing alternatives in the suburbs is always very difficult. However, as research and experience have shown, it is not impossible. Route deviation/point deviation, demand response, employer shuttles, and feeder systems have shown the ability to provide effective service and successfully compete for small markets in the suburban environment. The Suburban Transit Opportunities Study was undertaken with the primary goal of identifying characteristics of successful suburban transit services, especially as they may apply to the Boston region. To this end, the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) performed an exhaustive review of the national and local literature, and conducted four case studies of local suburban transit agencies. Additionally, CTPS hosted a round-table discussion between suburban transit providers and state transportation agencies, and conducted passenger surveys of all suburban systems currently operating within the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) region. Across the nation and here in Massachusetts, analysts and transit providers have begun to look at the challenge of providing suburban transit in new ways. Rather than attacking the problem only by trying to change its root cause – automobile-oriented land use – planners and scholars now argue that transit itself must also change in order to be successful in the suburban environment. Planning techniques, service types, and in fact, the very way in which suburban systems view themselves, must adapt. Conventional cost-effectiveness metrics cannot be used as the sole means of measuring success. As such, this report describes methods, techniques, and lessons learned by transit agencies about operating sustainable suburban transit systems that fulfill the goals and objectives identified by their public or private stakeholders.
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