Overcoming Local Barriers to Regional Transportation: Understanding Transit System Fragmentation from an Institutionalist Framework

Metropolitan transportation systems (MTSs) span a fragmented political and administrative geography. The 200 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) - Census-defined areas of social and economic unity that one would reasonably expect a truly metropolitan system to serve - have more than 400 transit operating agencies (National Transit Database, 2014), and more than 5,000 general-purpose local governments (U.S. Census of Governments, 2012). MTSs face two persistent problems: (1) local governments that opt out of fiscal or functional participation, and (2) a lack of administrative coordination among transit agencies. Both of these can lead to service gaps that impair the connectivity, coverage, and accessibility necessary to make employment, education, health care, and other amenities available to all residents, regardless of where they live in the region. The authors develop a novel theoretical framework, grounded in new institutionalism, that conceptualizes decisions about regional transportation as products of both rules (formal institutions, state laws, and bylaws) and norms (informal institutions and professional relations). This research develops a metropolitan Transit Governance Index (TGI) for the largest 200 metropolitan regions with two or more transit agencies in operation. This work will allow the testing of propositions about the relationship between the institutional attributes of an MTS and three measures of MTS equity (connectivity, coverage, and accessibility). It provides a foundation for richer advocacy of policy reforms capable of changing those rules and norms that impede MTS equity.

• Record URL:
  http://hdl.handle.net/10106/29190
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/70374
• Summary URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/65588
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This research was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Texas, Arlington

  Department of Civil Engineering, P.O. Box 19308
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019-0308

  Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions & Dollars (CTEDD)

  University of Texas at Arlington
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Weinreich, David
  • Skuzinski, Thomas
  • Hamidi, Shima
• Publication Date: 2018-11-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 81p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Equity; Governance; Institutional issues; Metropolitan areas; Public transit; Regional transportation; Transit operating agencies
• Uncontrolled Terms: Fragmentation; Transit services
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Policy; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01713572
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: CTEDD 017-08
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747134
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 7 2019 5:47PM