A RURAL TRANSIT SYSTEM FOR ST. CHARLES PARISH: RECOMMENDATIONS

The westward growth of the New Orleans metropolitan area was documented on June 30, 1983, when the Bureau of the Census added St. Charles Parish to the New Orleans Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1980, St. Charles showed a population increase of 26 percent (against 1970 census). Although still rural in nature, significant changes have taken place--increased urbanization, industrial plant growth, and the development of high-income subdivisions--that generated the need to reassess the potential for intra-parish transit service. St. Charles Parish has never had any mass transportation except for a few daily buses and trains passing through on their way to New Orleans. The purpose of this study is to examine the potential for a transit system in St. Charles Parish. The challenge is to design a transit system that would be successful in an area characterized by the overwhelming dominance of the automobile, low population density, and multiple major traffic attractors. This report examines the current transportation systems operating in St. Charles and the results of a survey of the residents' attitudes regarding the potential use of transit service. The selected alternative transportation system recommended and discussed in this report is a demand-responsive service with radio-dispatched vehicles operating in several zones with timed transfers. In addition, operational details are developed, and funding and marketing are discussed. A phased implementation plan for the system is suggested.

• Corporate Authors:

  Urban Systems, Incorporated

  4822 Prytania Street
  New Orleans, LA  United States  70115

  Urban Mass Transportation Administration

  400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 1985-3

Media Info

• Pagination: 95 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bus transit; Demand responsive transportation; Dispatching; Economic development; Paratransit services; Public transit; Rural areas; Timed transfer; Urbanization
• Identifier Terms: Urban Mass Transportation Act
• Geographic Terms: Louisiana
• Old TRIS Terms: Bus services; Umta section 18
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00452519
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: UMTA-LA-18-X001-85-1
• Contract Numbers: UMTA-LA-18-X001
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 31 1988 12:00AM