TAXIS AND OTHER PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES. SPEAKER 5

This paper pursues the proposition that a demonstration program is needed to evaluate the potential for taxicabs for providing various paratransit services, and specifies, in general terms, a program of empirical investigation and experimentation designed to test and evaluate promising service innovations for taxicabs. Regulations seldom deal adequately with the various shared-ride services (jitney, dial-a-ride-, hail-a-ride, subscription) that taxicabs can provide. Taxicab operations by the private sector have not been eligible for the UMTA Capital Grant Program. A promising subsidy mechanism is one in which the public body negotiates a contract with a transportation provider to offer certain specified services at reduced fares; public funds are paid to the operator to supplement fare revenues. A second subsidy mechanism is the use of tickets sold to target group travellers at reduced rates and redeemed at the full fare value by the transportation provider (variations of this mechanism are also suggested). Benefits and potential problems with these services (jitney, dial-a-ride, hail-a-ride, subscription) and subsidy mechanisms are discussed. Transforming innovations in taxi services from ideas to implementation involves 2 major steps: broadening the knowledge base, and the dissemination of information relating to these factors to planners etc. Analyses conducted on the lines outlined here could provide a basis for the development of planning guidelines and demonstrations.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr154/sr154-028.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0360859X
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at the Fifth Annual International Conference on Demand-Responsive Transportation Systems conducted by the TRB, Nov. 11-13, 1974, Oakland, Calif.; and co-sponsored by American Public Transit Association, California DOT, Alameda-Contra Costa Transit, MIT, UMTA and Technology Sharing Program of U.S. DOT. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Kirby, Ronald F
• Conference:
  • Fifth Annual Conference on Demand-Responsive Transportation Systems
  • Location: Oakland California, United States
  • Date: 1974-11-11 to 1974-11-13
• Publication Date: 1975

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 92-98
• Monograph Title: DEMAND-RESPONSIVE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS & SERVICES
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Board Special Report
  • Issue Number: 154
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0360-859X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Demand responsive transportation; Demonstration projects; Evaluation; Fares; Information dissemination; Innovation; Jitneys; Level of service; Paratransit services; Private enterprise; Private transportation; Regulations; Ridership; Subsidies; Taxicabs; Urban transportation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Service; Sharing; Subscription bus service
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Law; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00126178
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 3 1981 12:00AM