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Chapter One
Introduction
PROJECT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES TECHNICAL APPROACH
TCRP Synthesis 29: Passenger Counting Technologies and The approach to this synthesis included a literature review, a
Procedures, published in 1998, summarized information survey of transit agencies, and telephone interviews with six
from selected transit agencies regarding the benefits and pit- agencies selected as case studies. A Transportation Research
falls associated with various passenger counting technolo- Information Services search was conducted to aid the litera-
gies, as reported by users. The synthesis provided advice for ture review.
agencies considering automatic passenger counter (APC)
systems. At that time, manual passenger counting was the The survey on passenger counting technologies was
most prevalent technique in the transit industry. designed to elicit information on automated technologies.
At the time of the last synthesis, manual data collection was
Since that time, improved technologies for boardings and the most common means of gathering information on rider-
alightings counts, reliable location detection, and data pro- ship. Over the past 10 years, use of APCs has become more
cessing have entered the passenger counting marketplace. common. Manual passenger counting was well documented
The use of APC technology has increased among transit in the previous synthesis; therefore, this synthesis focuses on
agencies of all sizes, often in conjunction with automated the state of the practice for nonmanual passenger counting
vehicle location systems, improved fare collection systems, systems, particularly APC systems.
and the use of geographic information systems as an ana-
lytical tool. One result has been improved timeliness and Once finalized by the panel, the survey was posted and
reliability (because it is drawn from a larger sample) of the pretested by panel members and selected transit agencies. The
ridership data, which in turn has encouraged agencies to rely pretest resulted in minor changes to survey logic and flow.
on and make greater use of the data.
The sampling plan involved a "core" sample of transit
The purpose of this synthesis is to document the state agencies that have active passenger counting programs,
of the practice in terms of analytical tools and technologies have participated in similar studies, and have implemented
for collecting transit ridership and other subsidiary data. or are considering APC systems. The core sample included
Results of a web-based survey of a cross-section of transit 56 agencies. The project manager sent an e-mail with an
agencies in North America document tools and technologies attachment from the TCRP program manager explaining the
used to count passenger boardings and alightings. Survey importance of the survey and a link to the online survey site
results include transit agency assessments of the effective- to each of the 56 agencies. In most cases, a known contact
ness and reliability of their methodologies and of desired had been identified; otherwise, the e-mail was sent to the
improvements. The survey was designed to emphasize APC planning director or the general manager with a request to
systems, but agencies using manual systems were also sur- forward the message to the most appropriate staff member.
veyed to gain an understanding of why new technologies Follow-up e-mails were sent approximately 2 and 4 weeks
have not been adopted. after the original contact to encourage response.
This report includes a review of the relevant literature in To guard against missing any agencies that are making
the field, concentrating on material published since TCRP interesting use of APCs and to ensure a broader sample,
Synthesis 29 in 1998. A final important element of this syn- an identical e-mail message was sent to all APTA transit
thesis is the chapter documenting case studies, based on agency members inviting their participation in the survey.
interviews with key personnel at selected agencies, to profile These agencies did not receive follow-up e-mails because of
innovative and successful practices and to explore ongoing the sheer number of agencies.
issues. Findings from all of these efforts are combined to
summarize lessons learned, gaps in information and knowl- Forty-one completed surveys were received from the 56
edge, and research needs. transit agencies in the core sample, a response rate of 73%.
