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T R A N S :[ T C O O P E R A T ~ V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M
Synthesis of Transit Practice 14
Innovative Suburb-to-Suburb
Transit Practices
KATHERINE S. HOOPER
Falmouth, Maine
TOPIC PANE1
PAMELA J. BF,LCHAMBER, Vallejo Transit
WAYNE BERMAN, Federal Highway Administration
DAVID F. BONE, Montgomery County Division off Transit Services
TERRANCE BRANNON, PACE Suburbs Bus D~wion of the RTA
JOSF,PH M. GOODMAN, Federal Transit Administration
ALAN E. PISA~KI, Falls Circe ~rgi':ia
LAUREL J. RADOW, Amencan Public Transit Association
DANIEL RUDGE, University of South Florida
JAMES A. SCOTT, Transportation Research Board
FRANK SPIELBERG, SO Associates, Inc.
JON WILLIAMS, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Transportation Research Board
National Research Council
Research Sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in
Cooperation with the Transit Dee elopment Corporation
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1995
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TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
The nation s growth and the need to meet mobility, environ-
mental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit
systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of
upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency,
and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is nec-
essary to solve operating problems, to adapt appropriate new
technologies from other industries, and to introduce innovations
into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Pro-
gran~ (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the
transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to
Sleet demands placed on it.
The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special
Report 213 Research for Public Transit: New Directions, pub-
lished in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Federal
Transit Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public
Transit Association (APIA), Transportation 2000, also recog-
nized the need tor local, problem-solving research. TCRP, mod-
eled after the longstanding and successful National Cooperative
Highway Research Program, undertakes research and other
technical activities in response to the needs of transit service
providers. The scope of vice configuration, equipment, facilities,
operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and adminis-
~ative practices.
TCRP was established under ETA sponsorship in July 1992.
Proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation. TCRP was
authorized as part of tile Intermodal Surface Transportation ED
f~ciency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum
agreement outlining TCRP operating procedures was executed
by the three cooperating organizations: ETA, the National Acad-
emy of Sciences, acting through the Transportation Research
Board (TRB), and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc.
(TDC), a nonprofit educational and research organization estab-
lished by APIA. TDC is responsible for foraging the i~depend-
ent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and
Project Selection (TOPS) Committee.
Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodi-
cally but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at anytime. It is
the responsibility of the TOPS Committee to formulate the re-
search program by identifying the highest priority projects. As
part of the evaluation, the TOPS Committee defines funding
levels and expected products.
Once selected, each project is assigned to all expert panel,
appointed by the Transportation Research Board. The panels
prepare project statements (requests for proposals), select con-
~actors, and provide technical guidance and counsel throughout
the life of the project. The process for developing research
problem statements and selecting research agencies has been
used by TRB in managing cooperative research programs since
1962. As in other TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve
voluntarily without compensation.
Because research cannot have the desired impact if products
fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed
on disseminating TCRP results to the intended end-users of the
research: transit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB
provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit prac-
tice, and other supporting material developed by TCRP research.
APIA will arrange for workshops, Gaining aids, field visits, and
other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban
and rural transit industry practitioners.
The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can coop-
eratively address common operational problems. TCRP results
support and complement other ongoing transit research and
Paining programs.
TCRP SYNTHESIS 14
Project SB-2
ISSN 1073~880
ISBN 0-309-05862-7
Libraly of Congress Catalog Card No. 95-61367
Price $14.00
NOTICE
The project that is the subject of this report was ~ part of the Transit
Cooperative Research Program conducted by the Transportation Re-
search Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the Na-
tional Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board's
judgment that the project concerned is appropriate with respect to both
the purposes arid resources of the National Research Council.
The members of the technical advisory panel selected to monitor
this project and to review this report were chosen for recognize
scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of
disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions
expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed
the research, and while they have been accepted as appropriate by the
technical panel, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation
Research Board, the Transit Development Corporation, the National
Research Council, or the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S.
Department of Transportation.
Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the techni-
cal panel according to procedures established and monitored by the
Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Govern-
ing Board of the National Research Council.
Special Notice
The Transportation Research Board, the Transit Development
Corporation, the National Research Council. and the Federal
Transit Administration (sponsor of the Transit Cooperative Re-
searc~h Program) do not endorse products or manufacturers.
Trade or manufacturers' names appear herein solely because
they are considered essential to the clarity and completeness of
the project report.
Published reports of the
TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
are available from:
Transportation Research Board
National Research Council
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20418
Printed in He United States of America
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PREFACE A vast storehouse of information exists on many subjects of concern to the transit in
dustry. This information has resulted from research and from the successful application
of solutions to problems by individuals or organizations. There is a continuing need to
provide a systematic means for compiling this information and making it available to
the entire transit community in a usable format. The Transit Cooperative Research Pro
gram includes a synthesis series designed to search for and synthesize useful knowledge
from all available sources and to prepare documented reports on current practices in
subject areas of concern to the transit industry.
This synthesis series reports on various practices, making specific recommendations
where appropriate but without the detailed directions usually found in handbooks or de
sign manuals. Nonetheless, these documents can serve similar purposes, for each is a
compendium of the best knowledge available on those measures found to be successful
in resolving specific problems. The extent to which these reports are useful will be tem
pered by the user's knowledge and experience in the particular problem area.
FOREWORD This synthesis win be of interest to transit agency general managers and their market
By Stay ing and planning staffs. It will also be of interest to state departments of transportation,
Transportation metropolitan planning organizations, and other professionals in the private sector con-
Research Board corned with the provision of suburban transportation services. This synthesis provides
information about the suburban shift from the more traditional central business district-
oriented service patterns of selected transit agencies. Transit agencies with limited mar-
keting successes in this area are being challenged to address these non-aaditional mar-
kets anew.
Administrators, practitioners, and researchers are continually faced with issues or
problems on which there is much information, either in the form of reports or in terms
of undocumented experience and practice. Unfortunately, this information often is scat-
tered or not readily available in the literature, and, as a consequence, in seeking solu-
tions, full information on what has been learned about an issue or problem is not as-
sembled. Costly research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be
overlooked, and full consideration may not be given to the available methods of solving
or alleviating the issue or problem. In an effort to correct this situation, the Transit Co-
operative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis Project, carried out by the Transportation
Research Board as the research agency, has the objective of reporting on common transit
issues and problems and synthesizing available information. The synthesis reports from
this endeavor constitute a TCRP publication series in which various forms of relevant
information are assembled into single, concise documents pertaining to a specific or
closely related issue or problem.
This report of the Transportation Research Board describes some common elements
of success among transit agencies with services that have suburban origins and destina-
tions and that serve largely suburban travel needs. This synthesis documents current
transit agency practice regarding targeted marketing, partnerships with the private
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sector, site design and land use issues, and transit's role both as "mobility manager" and
in taking corrective actions to attain national air quality standards. Selected case study
examples representing the wide diversity of suburb-to-suburb transit services being of-
fered in the United States and Canada describe in more detail where innovative ap-
proaches are being used to meet increased travel demands.
To develop this synthesis in a comprehensive manner and to ensure inclusion of
significant knowledge, available information was assembled from numerous sources,
including a number of public transportation agencies. A topic panel of experts in the subject
area was established to guide the researchers in organizing and evaluating the collected
data, and to review the final synthesis report.
This synthesis is an immediately useful document that records practices that were ac-
ceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at flee time of its preparation.
As the processes of advancement continue, new knowledge can be expected to be added
to that now at hand.
