Forecasting Call-n-Ride Productivity in Low-Density Areas

Transit agencies increasingly face the challenge of providing service to low-density suburban areas where demand for transit is limited. Yet it is usually important to serve these areas both for equity reasons and to secure political support for transit. Creative solutions are needed to provide cost-effective transit service in areas where fixed route buses cannot perform well because of low demand density and dispersed travel patterns. One alternative is a general-public, demand-responsive Call-n-Ride (CnR) service, such as those being operated by Pace Suburban Bus, the Denver Regional Transportation District, and the Pomona Valley Transportation Authority. CnR services operate without a central dispatcher, and drivers take requests for services directly on their cell phones and make all routing and scheduling decisions. This paper introduces Call-n-Ride services and presents the results of an evaluation of Pace’s West Joliet Call-n-Ride in Joliet, Illinois. Using data from similar services elsewhere in the U.S, the paper develops a forecasting model to predict productivity of proposed Call-n-Ride services based on population density, employment density, service zone size, connecting bus routes, and the percentage of seniors as independent variables. This model can be used to help transit agencies make decisions about whether and where to invest in Call-n-Ride services.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Baumgartner, David S
  • Schofer, Joseph L
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 90th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2011-1-23 to 2011-1-27
• Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 14p
• Monograph Title: TRB 90th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bus drivers; Demand responsive transportation; Paratransit services; Population density; Public transit; Routes and routing; Schedules and scheduling; Suburbs; Traffic forecasting; Travel patterns
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01334194
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 11-0389
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Mar 25 2011 10:28AM