SERVICE AND ORGANIZATIONAL OPTIONS IN RURAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: LESSON LEARNED FROM SECTION 147 DEMONSTRATIONS

This paper focuses on the potential impact that the Section 18 program of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1978 might have on selecting options for rural transportation projects. It bases its projections on an analysis of the range of service options found in the Section 147 demonstration projects. Service options can be classified as fixed route, paratransit, or a hybrid including both fixed-route and paratransit elements. The hybrid options include route- and point-deviation modifications of fixed-route service and use of various paratransit modes as feeder service to fixed routes. In most rural areas the elderly and the handicapped are the primary market for rural transit services. Work trips by the general public may also be an important potential market. For the elderly, needs can be divided into three primary trip types: medical; shopping, social, and personal business; and senior centers and nutrition centers. The availability of federal capital and operating assistance for rural and small urban areas through Section 18 will permit expansion of service. One lesson learned from the review of the Section 147 projects is that several types of service are generally required to meet rural transportation needs. The challenge now is to develop a mixture of services that makes optimum use of the available resources and results in an equitable distribution of service to the various market segments. Generally, the process of implementing Section 18 projects is more complex than for Section 147 projects. Thus, it becomes even more important to learn from the Section 147 experience which service and organizational options work best so that the overall task of implementing Section 18 projects can be made a little easier. (Author)

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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appeared in TRB Unpublished Report No. 19, Fourth National Conference on Rural Public Transportation: Proceedings.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Benacquista, R J
  • Smith Jr, R L
• Publication Date: 1980-4

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 10-12
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Board Unpublished Report
  • Issue Number: 19
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aged; Demonstration projects; Fixed routes; Paratransit services; Persons with disabilities; Public transit; Rural areas
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00372324
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Final Rpt.
• Contract Numbers: DOT-UT-80040
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 31 1983 12:00AM