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CHAPTER TWO
USE OF HIGHER CAPACITY BUSES (SURVEY RESULTS)
INVENTORY OF TRANSIT AGENCIES USING Thirty-two responses were received from these transit
HIGHER CAPACITY BUSES agencies, representing a response rate of 47%. The distribu-
tion of responses by HC bus type is provided in Table 3.
The APTA 2006 Vehicle Database (13) and CUTA's
Canadian Transit Fact Book: 2005 Operating Data (14) The remaining sections of this chapter report on the sur-
were researched to identify and inventory transit agencies vey's findings from a variety of perspectives, including:
with HC buses. This analysis revealed that 68 North Amer-
ican (approximately 19% of the transit agencies that are · Type of services using HC buses,
members of APTA and/or CUTA and operate five or more · Reasons for implementing HC buses,
HC motorbuses) have HC buses in their fleets. Sixteen of · Deployment dates of HC buses,
the transit agencies use two types of HC buses in their · Different wage rates,
fleets. No North American transit agency operates three · Legislative and regulatory impediments,
types of HC buses. Table 1 provides a breakdown of the · Facilities or infrastructure modifications,
number of transit agencies with HC buses in their fleets by · Local service restrictions,
type of HC bus and in parentheses the total number of HC · Actions taken to reduce dwell time,
buses. Table 2 shows the number of transit agencies using · Scheduling procedures for HC buses,
HC buses in North America by size of the active fleet and · Approaches to mixed-fleet operations,
by type of HC bus. · Experience with HC buses,
· Ridership impacts of HC buses,
For transit agencies using HC buses in the United States, · Agency-reported customer acceptance of HC buses,
the average HC bus percentage of active fleets was approxi- · Agency-reported operator acceptance,
mately 16%; for Canadian fleets using HC buses the HC bus · Issues and concerns with use of HC buses,
percentage was approximately 14%. The percentage ranged · Vehicle features and amenities (including accommo-
widely for all sizes of active fleets. For the 16 small agencies dating bicycles),
(1 to 100 buses) the HC bus percentage ranged from 8% to · Passengers using wheelchairs: equipment and experi-
100%, with an average of 38%. For the 24 medium-size ence,
agencies (101 to 500 buses) the HC bus percentage ranged · Operating experiences with HC buses,
from 1% to 47%, and the average was 13%. The 19 large · Spare ratios for HC buses, and
agencies (500 or more buses) also exhibited a wide range, 3% · Future plans for HC buses.
to 45% HC buses, with the average HC percentage approxi-
mately 15%.
TYPES OF SERVICE USING
HIGHER CAPACITY BUSES
SURVEY RESPONSES
Survey respondents were asked to indicate the types of ser-
The transit agency questionnaire was sent to 59 U.S. and vice in which HC buses were used. In most cases, respon-
9 Canadian agencies; 16 small, 27 medium, and 25 large dents reported multiple applications for the HC buses. The
(15,16). The breakdown of these 68 transit agencies by active results are presented in Table 4.
fleet size and HC bus types is presented in Tables 1 and 2.
These transit agencies have sub-fleets of five or more HC All transit agencies reporting the use of HC buses for BRT
buses in their active motorbus fleets, with the size classifica- service used articulated buses, except two that used 45-ft
tion based on their active motorbus fleets. Agencies with 100 buses. The entire bus fleet of GO Transit (Ontario) consists
or fewer buses are labeled small, agencies with 101 to 500 of intercity coaches (both 40-ft and 45-ft models). They use
buses are medium, and agencies with more than 500 buses 85 of their 45-ft coaches on their BRT Highway 407/403 ser-
are large. Sixteen U.S. transit agencies use two different vice. The city of Phoenix uses its 45-ft CompoBuses on BRT
types of HC buses. The transit agency questionnaire is pro- service routes. The seven other transit agencies use articu-
vided in Appendix A. lated buses for their BRT service.
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TABLE 1
NUMBER OF NORTH AMERICAN TRANSIT AGENCIES USING HC BUSES
No. of Transit Agencies with HC Buses*
(no. of HC buses operated)
Articulated Double-
Articulated and Double- Deck and
Country Articulated Double-Deck 45-ft and 45-ft Deck 45-ft Totals
United States 25 0 18 14 1 1 59
(1,802) (273) (3,321) (156) (22) (5,574)
Canada 7 1 1 0 0 0 9
(463) (38) (167) (668)
Totals 32 1 19 14 1 1 68
(2,265) (38) (440) (3,321) (156) (22) (6,242)
Source: References 13 and 14.
*Only includes transit agencies with more than five HC buses in their fleet.
TABLE 2
NUMBER OF TRANSIT AGENCIES BY SIZE OF ACTIVE FLEET USING HC BUSES
No. of Transit Agencies*a
(no. of HC buses)
by Size of Active Fleets
Type of HC Bus 1100 101500 501+ Totals
Articulated 3 22 22 47
(24) (807) (3,133) (3,964)
Double-Deck 1 1 1 3
(3) (50) (38) (91)
45-ft 13 11 10 34
(236) (337) (1,614) (2,187)
Total No. of Transit Agencies 17 34 33 84(a)
(including multiple HC
fleets)
Total No. of HC Buses (263) (1,194) (4,785) (6,242)
Source: References 13 and 14.
*Only includes transit agencies with more than five HC buses in their fleet.
a
Sixteen transit agencies use two types of HC buses.
TABLE 3
NUMBER OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS BY SIZE OF ACTIVE FLEET
AND HC BUS TYPE
Size of Active Fleet HC Fleet
Type of HC Bus Large Medium Small Totals
Articulated Fleets 12 9 3 24
Double-Deck Fleets 1 1 1 3
45-ft Fleets 5 5 4 14
41a
No. of Agencies by Size 13 12 7 32
Source: Transit agency survey responses.
a
Nine of the respondents were using two types of HC buses.
