SMALL CITY TRANSIT CHARACTERISTICS: AN OVERVIEW

The report is based on information and operating data from thirteen small community transit systems which were studied as part of a larger project on small community transit and its potential. It summarizes organizational, institutional, and operational aspects of the case studies and contains an analysis of some of the relationships among service, cost and community response. Hypotheses are offered regarding the types of trips which are served, the cost and service trade-offs which are relevant when choosing between fixed-route and demand-responsive modes of operation, the critical variables such as labor agreements and maintenance arrangements which affect operating costs, the level of subsidy which may be anticipated, and the trade-offs between single-ride fares and transit passes as a means of fare collection. A number of conclusions are offered which bear on these topics, but the uniqueness of each community situation is stressed as an often dominant factor. The thirteen communities used for this study are: Amherst, Massachusetts; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Bremerton, Washington; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; East Chicago, Indiana; El Cajon, California; Eugene/Springfield, Oregon; Evansville, Indiana; Merced, California; Merrill, Wisconsin; Sudbury, Massachusetts; Westport, Connecticut; Xenia, Ohio.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • See also PB-251 502.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Systems Center

  55 Broadway, Kendall Square
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02142

  Urban Mass Transportation Administration

  Office of Service & Method Demonstration, 400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • KENDALL, D
  • Misner, J
  • STEARNS, M
  • Waksman, R
• Publication Date: 1976-3

Media Info

• Pagination: 44 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Buses; Cities; Cities and towns; City planning; Communities; Demand responsive transportation; Fare collection; Fixed routes; Operating costs; Public transit; Scheduling; Small cities; Technical assistance; Transportation; Transportation operations; Travel demand; Urban development; Urban transportation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Transportation management; Transportation systems
• Geographic Terms: California; Connecticut; Indiana; Massachusetts; Michigan; North Carolina; Ohio; Oregon; Washington (State); Wisconsin
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00133206
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT-TSC-UMTA-76-5-1 Final Rpt., UMTA-MA-06-0049-76-1
• Contract Numbers: MA-06-0049
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jun 23 1981 12:00AM