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1Overview An overriding thesis of the modern condition is that mobility is becoming increasingly complex. Nationwide, eco- nomic growth has led to commercial expansion reaching far- ther and farther out to suburbia, creating more settings to which the transit industry has been asked to respond. These suburban communities are creating less dense, more auto- dependent environments. For the transit industry, these types of communities have been historically the most difficult to serve because they lack the density to support fixed-route and lack the finances to support demand-responsive services. Because of the increasing fuel prices and the continuing demand from constituent groups (such as older adults) to provide more mobility options, the need exists to revisit the state of the practice in the delivery of suburban services. The typical trip purposes that are served by suburban tran- sit services include long-distance commute, connections to the regional transit network, and intracommunity connec- tions. A large percentage of the suburban services provided in the preliminary and detailed case study sites were developed to offer service in areas with relatively low demand for tran- sit. These services included both fixed-route and demand- responsive services. Many of these services, especially route-deviation and demand-responsive, focus on providing area coverage, but they also provide connections to the regional bus system. The increase in population and develop- ment in new or growing suburban areas has also resulted in an increase in commuter services in corridors that access those suburban areas, especially commuter bus services. As a result, the typical suburban system today includes local, regional, and commuter services. As will be discussed, although there has been much work in the transit industry to wrestle with the difficulties of sub- urban transportation, including developing a long list of innovative, technology-enhanced services, there are no âone size fits allâ solutions. Although emerging databases and resources can be used to assist transit agencies in planning land-use connections, the lack of availability and lack of con- sistency of these resources limit their applicability. Further, in the detailed case studies, neither the land use nor the transit data suggest specific approaches to predicting efficiency or effectiveness, though the trends described can provide guid- ance in the development of such services. As was found to be the case in the original research, deter- mining the success of suburban transit services remains ulti- mately a policy-related task. Success appears to be measured in a wide variety of ways at the local level, which will be dis- cussed as part of the guidebook. The policy perspective regarding the success or failure of many suburban services is often not based on typical quantitative performance meas- urement factors, but rather on qualitative concepts, such as value added to the community. These findings suggest that although suburban transit service delivery remains more of an art than a science, the combination of innovation and technologyâincluding the use of geographical information systems (GIS) incorporating land-use dataâmay lead to more uniform solutions in the future. Summary of Findings The goals of this research were to examine the current sta- tus of suburban transit, from both operations and land-use perspectives, and to develop guidelines for evaluating, select- ing, and implementing those services. The guidelines would be in the form of a guidebook that would inform both technical staffs and policy boards. The research was conducted by a mul- tidisciplinary team and included evaluation of approximately 30 preliminary and 7 detailed case studies. The evaluation included substantial communication and understanding of those preliminary and detailed case studies and was compiled in the findings and conclusions of the research. Unlike some research efforts that focus on the mathematical formulas associated with specific public transit issues, this research,as will be described more thoroughly below,reinforces C H A P T E R 1 Introduction to Suburban Transit Services
the importance of public policy decisions within an area that is still developing. These policy-related perspectives, combined with the technical results of other research,yielded the following findings: ⢠The state of suburban transit services continues to evolve just as the state of suburbs also evolves. For example, as suburbia extends into new areas, the formerly suburban areas begin to resemble the downtown areas of decades ago, thereby further stretching the resources required to adequately connect those new suburban areas with public transit. ⢠Although the menu of solutions (commuter service, regional connection, and local circulation) remains similar from prior studies, the decision-making process to retain or withdraw these suburban services is primarily based on local policies, which are substantially influenced by the availability of local funding. ⢠Measurement processes for these services can also vary from a relatively stringent, quantitative analysis (e.g., meet- ing a minimum ridership-per-hour threshold) to a less stringent, qualitative analysis (e.g., maintaining commu- nity control of local circulators). Denver Regional Trans- portation District (RTD) uses a modified performance level evaluation for all of its suburban transit services. This evaluation can serve as a model for other agencies to con- sider and will be described in detail in the guidebook. ⢠Efforts by the research team to more specifically analyze the land-use connection with suburban transit services pro- vided mixed results. The research team found that the use of information on density, diversity, and design compo- nents had potential to assist with transit planning at the local level, but not at the national level. Because the land- use data were inconsistent and difficult to assemble into a uniform format, and because the attributes of the services varied greatly from location to location, it was not possible to develop a comparative analysis that could be used in general throughout the country. In fact, several research team members believed that further national collection of those specific land-use data (e.g., percentage of persons employed in manufacturing) would not expand the value of those data, and perhaps the best incorporation of land- use data would be at the local level as recorded and ana- lyzed at the local level. ⢠It appears that more agencies are grappling with the issue of how to provide services in areas that cannot support fixed-route services. Some options, such as point and route deviation, appear to be accepted by local communities in some areas but not accepted by others. One increasingly implemented option is to expand the role of demand- responsive services, many times requiring order taking and real-time scheduling by vehicle operators. ⢠It also appears that many of the alternatives to fixed-route services are developed with the goal of expanding suburban transit service coverage, which is sometimes counter to the goal of fixed-route services, which is to maximize produc- tivity. Some of the alternative services eliminate the need for delivering separate Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complementary paratransit services by blending ADA- eligible clients into the suburban service solutions. ⢠Additional research may prove beneficial by focusing on non-fixed-route options and the potential to coordinate human service transportation (as exemplified by the Fed- eral United We Ride program) with options for ADA para- transit. Although the demand for ADA paratransit service has increased significantly in both urban and suburban locales, the cost of the service is outpacing the funding sources. ⢠Although the specificity of land-use data and the unifor- mity of suburban transit data were not as good as the research team originally anticipated they would be, there appear to be various general trends and conclusions that will increase the understanding of the complexities of sub- urban transit services and underscore the importance of the local policy-making process. This research did not result in easy-to-adapt findings or concrete guidelines because many aspects of public transit service delivery, whether from the planning perspective or policy perspective, remain more art than science. However, the findings of this research will still help policy boards bet- ter understand service options and attributes. The research ultimately identified several applicable traits that can help transit agencies think about the issues involved in suburban transit services. The final report for this project is available online as TCRP Web-Only Document 34 at http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail. asp?id=6526. 2
