Successful Coordinated Transportation Services in Rural Communities
Many share the vision of improved mobility for all residents of rural communities and look forward to productive and cost-effective transportation services with much public support. But today many rural communities still face meager transportation funding, multiple funding sources and service objectives, limited services, and inadequate public interest and transportation investments. As a result, coordination initiatives are receiving even greater attention at all levels of government. A TCRP project focused on how to implement coordinated transportation services in rural communities. New data included a survey of coordination practices of all 50 states and case studies of dozens of coordinated transportation operations. Ten states and 29 local sites were found to offer significant lessons about procedures and strategies. These efforts resulted in a list of coordination strategies that rural communities could pursue toward realizing significant transportation benefits. Although the process can be challenging, coordination offers resource management strategies to improve the performance of various individual transportation services and overall mobility in a community. Greater efficiency helps to stretch scarce and precious funding and personnel resources of the agencies. Coordination can significantly reduce per trip operating costs for rural transportation providers. People with special transportation needs often benefit from the greater amount of transportation and higher-quality services when transportation providers coordinate operations. Coordinated transportation services often have access to more funds and are thus able to achieve economies of scale. They have more sources of funds and other resources. They also can offer more visible transportation services for consumers in rural communities and less confusion about how to access services.
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- Summary URL:
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Public/Blurbs/156250.aspx
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Authors:
- Burkhardt, Jon E
- Publication Date: 2005
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Print
- Features: References;
- Pagination: pp 54-61
- Monograph Title: Transit: Bus, Rural Public and Intercity, and Paratransit
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Serial:
- Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
- Issue Number: 1903
- Publisher: Transportation Research Board
- ISSN: 0361-1981
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Case studies; Coordination; Economies of scale; Lessons learned; Mobility; Operating costs; Procedures; Rural areas; Rural transportation; States; Strategic planning; Surveys
- Uncontrolled Terms: Cost reduction; Resource management; Transportation services
- Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01003761
- Record Type: Publication
- ISBN: 0309093740
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Sep 1 2005 1:54PM