Bus Use of Shoulders (2006)

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43 APPENDIX A Screening Questionnaires Two survey questionnaires were employed for this synthesis project. A brief questionnaire was designed to identify existing and planned use of bus shoulder applications. It also solicited areas of concern from this broad group of agencies surveyed. The longer survey questionnaire was only sent to those agencies that indicated having an existing or near-term planned bus use application. The two-phase survey approach was intended not to burden agencies that do not have shoulder use applica- tions with irrelevant questions and thereby discourage response to the initial screening questions. The screening survey was distributed using commercial web-based software—“Survey Monkey” (see Figure A1 for de- scription of Survey Monkey). The longer and more detailed follow-up survey was distributed as a word document by means of e-mail. This second survey format lends itself to more flexible responses for those agencies with more than one bus use of shoulder application. FIGURE A1 Description of Survey Monkey software from SurveyMonkey.com website.

44 TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM SYNTHESIS TOPIC SD-03 Congestion Bypass Use of Shoulders Questionnaire (screening) Project Purpose—In many urban areas, traffic congestion commonly delays bus services and adversely impacts schedule reliability. Some communities have adopted policies and regulations that permit buses to use arterial or freeway shoulders to bypass congestion either as interim or long-term treatments. Maryland, Virginia, Minnesota, Washington, British Columbia, and Ontario are among the jurisdictions that have implemented or are considering implementing bus use of shoulder programs. California is presently considering the bus use of shoulders concept, and a number of communities allow general traffic use of shoulders during peak periods. Many jurisdictions, however, have been reluctant to embrace bus use of shoulders for various reasons. Little information is available about travel time, reliability, patronage benefits, and safety impacts resulting from allowed use of shoulders. Purpose of Survey—The two primary purposes of this synthesis are: (1) to identify and obtain information about jurisdictions that allow bus use of shoulders, along with positive and negative experiences, and (2) to identify and obtain information about what jurisdictions have considered, but have not implemented, these treatments and the reasons why. Both the transit and highway perspectives will be explored, recognizing that both must be partners in expanding promising applications for increasing patronage and improving operating efficiency. General traffic use of shoulders experience is also of interest as it provides useful and relevant insights for bus use applications. Agencies that are involved with shoulder use applications will be contacted later for further information. General Information on the DOT/Transit Agency/MPO Agency Name: _______________________________________________________________________ __ _ Address: ____________________________________________________________________________ __ _ City: __________________________ State/Province: ____________________ Postal Code: _________ ___ Contact Name/Title: _________________________________________ Date: _______________________ Telephone: ________________________ Fax: ____________________ E-Mail: _____________________ 1. Are shoulder lanes of highways in your jurisdiction currently open for buses to use in order to bypass traffic congestion? ( ) Yes ( ) No If yes, please specify locations _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. In the past, had buses been allowed to use highway shoulders to bypass congestion? ( ) Yes ( ) No If yes, specify locations ___________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 3. Are the use of highway shoulders by buses now currently under review? ( ) Yes ( ) No

45 If yes, please specify location ______________________________________________________________ 5. Does the bus shoulder congestion bypass concept seem to offer promise in your jurisdictional area and if so what highway segments might benefit from this concept? ___________________________________ _ _______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ _ 6. What types of concerns would you have regarding the design, operation, and implementation of the bus shoulder congestion bypass concept? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Are you aware of any states or provinces other than those mentioned in the opening paragraph that permit buses to use highway shoulders to bypass congestion? If so please list. _____________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Suggested contacts at agencies involved with your shoulder use project (DOT, Bus Operator, MPO, etc.) _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Other suggested references and sources: ____________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Additional comments: ____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Thank you in advance for assisting us with the project. Should you have any questions, please contact me at the address below. Please complete and return this questionnaire by the end of January to: Peter Martin Wilbur Smith Associates 201 Mission Street, Suite 1450 San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone: 415-495-6201 E-mail: pmartin@wilbursmith.com 4. Are general traffic or HOVs allowed to use shoulders during peak hours? ( ) Yes ( ) No

46 Detailed Survey for Bus Use of Shoulder Agencies TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM SYNTHESIS TOPIC SD-03 Congestion Bypass Use of Shoulders Questionnaire Who Should Complete the Survey—Recently you completed a short screening survey that was designed to identify current bus use of shoulders projects in North America. We understand from the screening survey that __________ has a bus use of shoulders application for _____________________________. The attached questionnaire seeks to learn more about this application. Your assistance with this detailed survey effort is much appreciated. If the answer is unknown please indicate and continue with the completion of the survey. It is a word document, so please fell free to add space as needed. Project Purpose—In many urban areas, traffic congestion commonly delays bus services and adversely impacts schedule reliability. Some communities have adopted policies and regulations that permit buses to use arterial or freeway shoulders to bypass congestion either as interim or long-term treatments. Maryland, Virginia, Minnesota, Washington, British Columbia, and Ontario are among the jurisdictions that have implemented or are considering implementing bus use of shoulder programs. Many jurisdictions, however, have been reluctant to embrace bus use of shoulders for various reasons. Little information is available about travel time, reliability, patronage benefits, and safety impacts resulting from allowed use of shoulders. The purposes of this synthesis are (1) to identify and obtain information about jurisdictions that allow bus use of shoulders, along with positive and negative experiences, and (2) to identify and obtain information about what jurisdictions have considered, but have not implemented these treatments and the reasons why. Both the transit and highway perspectives will be explored, recognizing that both must be partners in expanding promising applications for increasing patronage and improving operating efficiency. General Information on the DOT/Transit Agency/MPO Agency Name: _______________________________________________________________________ __ _ Address: _______________________________________________________________________________ City: __________________________ State/Province: ____________________ Postal Code: ___________ Contact Name/Title: _________________________________________ Date: _______________________ Telephone: ________________________Fax: ____________________ E-Mail: ______________________ Shoulder Use Location and Features 1. Which segment and direction? ___________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Are bus operating speeds restricted for shoulder use? ( ) Yes—please specify maximum speed(s) ___________ ( ) No

47 3. How many one-way miles of shoulders are buses allowed to use in order to bypass congestion? ____ miles 4. When were the shoulders open to bus usage? _____month _____ year 5. Are any special operating procedures or instructions given to the bus drivers using the shoulders? ( ) Yes—please describe or append instructions: ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ( ) No 6. Is any special training provided for bus operators using shoulders? ( ) Yes—please describe: ________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ( ) No 7. Who is permitted to use the shoulder lanes—only public transit buses, all buses, HOVs? ( ) Only public buses ( ) Any bus ( ) HOVs ( ) All traffic including private cars 8. Are the shoulders only used for peak direction of travel or both directions? ( ) Peak direction only ( ) Both directions 9. What are the hours of operation? Morning—from _____ a.m. to _____ a.m. Evening—from _____ p.m. to _____ p.m. 10. Are these hours of operation fixed or linked to congestion? ( ) Fixed ( ) Linked to congestion levels—describe how: ______________________________________________ 11. Is shoulder use also allowed on weekends as well as weekdays? ( ) Yes ( ) No 12. What companies and routes use the shoulders and what are their headways during should use hours? Transit Agency(s) and routes: ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 13. Estimate of how many buses use the shoulders on an average weekday? ______ morning peak ______ evening peak Surveyed User Benefits and Costs 14. Have you conducted any surveys of bus passengers to ascertain their opinions about the buses using shoulders? ( ) Yes ( ) No

48 15. If so, could you please summarize/forward the results of these surveys? _________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 16. Have you surveyed bus drivers for their opinions and ideas for improving the application? ( ) Yes ( ) No If so, please summarize or forward a copy of results. Informal debrief information would also be appreciated. ___________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 17. Are ITS technologies used on-board the buses and/or alongside the highway to support shoulder use and if so what are they and what are their purposes? ( ) Yes—please describe: ________________________________________________________________ ( ) No 18. What improvements to the pavement, signage, etc., were required to allow buses to use the shoulders and what were the costs of these improvements? (Please indicate if the cost is an approximation or actual costs.) ________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 19. How have snow removal, enforcement efforts, disabled vehicle, and accident removal needs been affected by the shoulder use? ___________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 20. Are the shoulders used for regular traffic during pavement maintenance and other highway improvement efforts and if so how has this been coordinated with bus use of shoulders? _______________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 21. What is your estimate of the added annual highway maintenance and operations costs related to the bus use of shoulders? $ ____________ per year. What were the major cost increases related to? ___________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 22. What bus operations savings do you estimate have resulted from buses using shoulders to bypass congestion? (If added cost rather than savings please indicate.) ___________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Measured Benefits and Costs 23. Were before and after bus operating speeds surveyed during shoulder usage hours conducted and if so what were the before and after bus operating speeds? Before ______mph, after ______ mph 24. For each shoulder use application what are the typical travel times during peak congestion periods for buses_____________ minutes, for cars ____________ minutes 25. Were before and after schedule reliability studies conducted and if so what were the results? Before ________________________________________________________________________________ After _________________________________________________________________________________

49 26. What has been the accident experience of the shoulder operation (number and type)? ________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 27. What affect have the shoulder operations had on bus patronage? ________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 28. Have the shoulder use operations impacted operations on the regular traffic lanes or at ramps? ( ) Yes—please explain: __________________________________________________________________ ( ) No Highway Design and Upgrade Needs (input from highway agencies welcomed) 29. Are new or upgrades to shoulders constructed to full traffic lane standards of width and pavement strength? ( ) Yes ( ) No 30. What is the minimum width of shoulder used by buses to bypass congestion? ______ feet 31. What were the pavement design standards used for bus bypass shoulders? ____________________ ____ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 32. How many on- and off-ramp conflict points are there along the shoulder use segment? _____ on-ramps _____ off-ramps 33. What special markings are used for the bus use shoulders? _____________________________________ 34. What special signage is used for the bus use shoulders at termini, at ramp conflicts points, and along the highway in general? ___________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 35. What special modifications were made if any for drainage? ____________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Enforcement Experience and Lessons Learned 36. What special enforcement efforts were implemented? ________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 37. How many warnings and citations have been issued for misuse of the shoulders and has the abuse rate declined over time? ___________________________________________________________________ 38. Have there been abuse of the shoulder use privileges by bus operators? ( ) Yes ( ) No What type? _____________________________________________________________________________ 39. Have cameras or other ITS measures been employed for enforcement? ( ) ( ) Yes No Describe measures: _______________________________________________________________________

50 Implementation Background and Issues 40. What led to the implementation of shoulder use for buses to bypass congestion—specific problem, opportunity, or advocate? _____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 41. Please describe the planning process and agencies involved. __________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 42. What special design coordination if any was involved to implement the bus use of shoulders? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 43. What process was employed to implement the shoulder use? __________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 44. What special efforts and procedures are employed for on-going maintenance and operations coordination? _______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 45. Was special legislation required or was the shoulder use program implemented by administrative action? ____________________________________________________________________________ Please describe: _________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 46. Were changes made to the vehicle code or other regulations? ( ) Yes, please explain: __________________________________________________________________ ( ) No 47. Has the shoulder use program increased, reduced, or had no impact on public liability? ( ) Increased, please explain: _____________________________________________________________ ( ) No impact ( ) Reduced, please explain: ______________________________________________________________ 48. Suggested contacts at agencies involved with your shoulder use project (DOT, Bus Operator, MPO, etc.). ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 49. Other suggested references and sources: __________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Assessment of Overall Success What is your understanding of the acceptance (success/neutral/opposed) of the shoulder use concept by Transit operator______________________________________________ State DOT__________________________________________________ Bus drivers_________________________________________________ Community in general_________________________________________

51 What have been the key lessons learned? ____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Report Materials If reports, graphic descriptions, and photographs are available they would be very useful and appreciated. Please transmit them along with the questionnaire. Please indicate credits, etc., that should be used if they are republished as part of our report. Materials will be returned immediately after review. Closure Information Other suggested relevant information: _______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Additional comments: ____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Thank you in advance for assisting us with the project. Should you have any questions, please contact me at the address below. Please complete and return this questionnaire to: Peter Martin Wilbur Smith Associates 201 Mission Street, Suite 1450 San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone: 415-495-6201 E-mail: pmartin@wilbursmith.com