INTERCITY BUS SERVICE PLANNING

This report presents guidelines, procedures, and policy options for assessing the feasibility and desirability of continuing existing intercity bus services or promoting the initiation of new or revised services, particularly to rural areas and small urban areas. The guidelines and techniques address the following types of issues: potential ridership on such services; capital operating costs, revenues, and operating subsidies of the services; types and levels of services for cost-effectively meeting the intercity travel needs of specific rural areas; types of federal, state, and local regulatory, taxation, financial, and technical support policies that may promote intercity bus services to rural and small urban areas; and procedures and data for monitoring and evaluating the operation and benefits of such services. The report documents several major state actions to deregulate intercity bus service, including Florida in 1980 and Arizona in 1982. An evaluation of the ridership, revenues, and costs of alternative types of fixed-route intercity bus services was conducted for several rural travel corridors in California, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. The report also identifies and evaluates alternative federal and state regulatory, taxation, financial, and technical support policies and programs that could promote financially sound intercity bus service that meets the transportation needs of rural areas. The strengths, weaknesses and implementation considerations associated with these policies and programs are documented. These alternative policies and programs are examined in relation to intercity bus service problems in rural areas.

• Corporate Authors:

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  National Research Council

  2101 Constitution Avenue, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20418
• Publication Date: 1983-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 248 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Benefit cost analysis; Bus transit; Bus transit operations; Capital costs; Deregulation; Feasibility analysis; Intercity bus lines; Intercity transportation; Intercity travel; Needs assessment; Operating costs; Operating subsidies; Public policy; Regulations; Revenues; Ridership; Rural areas; Small cities; State departments of transportation; Taxation; Transportation planning
• Subject Areas: Finance; Law; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00766196
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Final Report
• Files: TRIS, TRB, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 15 1999 12:00AM