WHERE EXPRESS BUSES WORK

Densities of residential areas and sizes of central business districts necessary to generate sufficient demand to support express buses for given frequencies of service at a reasonable cost are estimated. Two types of express-bus operations are considered. In the first case, patrons are picked up by buses circulating in a residential area before the bus travels express to the central business district. In the second, commuters arrive by automobile at a park-and-ride lot before continuing their trips by express bus. We found that, for express-bus operations with pedestrian access, a cost of 6 cents/passenger km (10 cents/passenger-mile) is attainable for only a narrow range of residential densities and only to rather large central business districts. If 12 cents/passenger km (20 cents/passenger-mile) is an acceptable cost standard, a wider range of supporting conditions is possible. Express-bus operations that provide park-and-ride facilities are more broadly applicable at the 6 cents/passenger km (10 cents/passenger-mile) standard. Residential densities as low as 7 dwelling units/hsq m (3 dwelling units/acre) and central business districts of moderate size can in some cases support express-bus service. These findings match reasonably well with empirical data from 11 express-bus operations in two Connecticut cities. The achievement of more express-bus operations is possible by higher residential densities over a larger area and by growth of central business districts in medium- to large-sized cities. /Author/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1977/626/626-010.pdf
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=WHERE+EXPRESS+BUSES+WORK&author=J.+Zupan&author=B.+Pushkarev&publication_year=1977
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03611981
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Bus Transit Systems. 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.
• Authors:
  • Zupan, Jeffrey M
  • Pushkarev, Boris
• Conference:
  • 56th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1977-1-24 to 1977-1-28
• Publication Date: 1977

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Tables;
• Pagination: pp 35-38
• Monograph Title: Bus service planning
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 626
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Central business districts; Commuting; Costs; Density; Express buses; Level of service; Park and ride; Residential areas
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00167596
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309026512
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Feb 16 1981 12:00AM