Evaluating and Enhancing Public Transit Systems for Operational Efficiency and Access Equity

Assessing the performance of public transit services has long been an important yet challenging issue for transportation agencies and researchers. Transit service performance measurement reflects a very first step towards an efficient and proactive management, where public transit agencies are increasingly pressured to provide high-quality services in spite of constrained resources. However, the performance evaluation of transit services is complicated by an array of quantitative measures available to assess the goals and the diversity in the goals themselves, which usually include improving operational efficiency and providing equitable access. While much previous work has examined public transit services for achieving optimal operational efficiency and/or access equity separately, the interplay of the two has rarely been investigated to date. This project developed a comprehensive framework and an open-source toolbox for evaluating and enhancing the overall performance of public transit systems by using a combination of mathematical programming methods, geographic information systems (GIS)-based analysis and multi-objective spatial optimization techniques. This framework enabled operational efficiency and access equity of transit systems to be assessed in an integrated manner. The python open-source toolbox operationalizes the framework and makes it accessible to transit planners, decision-makers and the public. The framework and the toolbox are applied to assessing the performance of fixed-route bus services operated by the Utah Transit Authorities (UTA) in the Wasatch Front, Utah, and transit services operated by TriMet in the Portland metropolitan area. Results demonstrate that the developed framework and toolbox can effectively account for operational efficiency and access equity in an integrated manner, providing a more comprehensive assessment for transit service performance.

• Record URL:
  • https://ppms.trec.pdx.edu/media/project_files/NITC_RR_1024_Evaluating_and_Enhancing_Public_Transit_Systems_for_Operational_Efficiency_and_Access_Equity.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://ppms.trec.pdx.edu/media/project_files/1024_Executive_Summary.pdf
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/37438
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Utah, Salt Lake City

  Department of Geography
  Salt Lake City, UT  United States  84112

  National Institute for Transportation and Communities

  Portland State University
  P.O. Box 751
  Portland, OR  United States  97207

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Wei, Ran
  • Golub, Aaron
  • Wang, Liming
  • Cova, Thomas
• Publication Date: 2018-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 41p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Access; Bus travel; Equity; Geographic information systems; Level of service; Optimization; Performance measurement; Programming (Mathematics); Public transit; Spatial analysis
• Identifier Terms: Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon; Utah Transit Authority
• Geographic Terms: Portland (Oregon); Wasatch Front (Utah)
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01678155
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: NITC-RR-1024
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 21 2018 5:02PM