National Academies Press: OpenBook

Innovative Rural Transit Services (2011)

Chapter: CHAPTER FIVE Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Research

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Suggested Citation:"CHAPTER FIVE Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Research." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Innovative Rural Transit Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14605.
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Page 32
Page 33
Suggested Citation:"CHAPTER FIVE Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Research." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Innovative Rural Transit Services. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14605.
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Page 33

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30 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH The innovative spirit is alive and well in rural transit. In the 10 years since TCRP Report 70: Guidebook for Change and Innovation at Rural and Small Urban Transit Systems was published, transit agencies continue to innovate and change. Study efforts for this synthesis suggest that many rural tran- sit managers have adopted an innovative and/or entrepre- neurial spirit, motivated at times by limited resources and in some cases by changing demographics in their service areas. Successful rural transit systems are capable and ready to change and innovate as needed. The need to innovate has not changed and the motivation remains. INNOVATION AND SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES There is a fine line between innovation and successful prac- tice. Some innovations are truly innovative, but in most cases one transit agency’s “innovation” is a practice bor- rowed from elsewhere that is totally new for the agency or that the agency has modified for its own purposes. Some of the true innovations in transit include bus wraps (one of the first was a rural transit system), bicycle racks, flex routes, immediate response dial-a-ride, Greyhound rural feeder service, ticket agent, and depot manager (TCRP Report 70). Beyond these, many practices and programs at rural transit agencies could be termed innovative or successful practices, but when newly adopted they could be considered innovative for that particular agency. Possibly the most important innovation identified in the case study reviews for this synthesis is the ability of a rural transit system to reinvent itself. Based on these reviews, the ability to make significant changes to the agency’s opera- tion is critical to success. The transit agency essentially becomes innovative by virtue of its ability to change. Once the agency begins to make changes to meet the realities of its circumstances, innovation becomes the norm. These organi- zations often innovate as a reaction to a problem, but once they develop the culture of innovation they become proac- tive in their ability to change. With the constant change that rural transit managers face, this organizational ability to change and reinvent is a trait seen in the case studies in ear- lier TCRP work on innovation and again in the case studies of this synthesis. Uncovering Innovations Identifying innovation in the transit industry is difficult for a variety of reasons: • There is often a fine line between innovation and suc- cessful practice. • Surveying departments of transportation and state and national associations is not effective when discussing specific transit-level activities, as these organizations are not always aware of what is happening at a transit system unless the system manager informs them of the innovation. Many state departments of transportation and national-level transit organizations were not inter- ested in participating in the synthesis’s survey effort; instead, they pointed us to systems they knew of that had innovative/successful practices. • Asking managers about their innovations produces few results; asking about successful practices (some of which are truly innovative) generates a significant response. Most transit managers do not think of their innova- tive projects as innovative. Instead, they say that their practice or program is just a “common sense” approach, “logical,” or “seemed like the right thing to do.” • Some managers have difficulty grasping the definition of innovation. Furthermore, many rural transit manag- ers do not see other system managers periodically or go to conferences regularly. Thus, they do not have a frame of reference for what might be innovative. Entrepreneurial Spirit—Leadership Perhaps more important than determining whether a rural transit agency has implemented an innovation or borrowed a creative idea from another transit agency is its organiza- tional ability to make change happen. Changing demograph- ics, technology, and of course economic factors play a major role in shaping rural transit systems. The real innovation is in the change and reinvention of the organization to meet these changing dynamics. In the literature and the case studies in this synthesis, the key element to change in every case is a dynamic, entre- preneurial manager. Each of the innovators simply has an

31 entrepreneurial spirit—always looking for new partners, new service, and diverse funding sources. They manage their transit systems like a business. An interesting attri- bute found in the previous case studies was that when asked about barriers they encountered, all said there were no real barriers. One manager in a case study conducted through TCRP Report 70 stated, “I am my own barrier.” This was echoed by this selection of case studies, with few barriers noted. The innovative attributes and ranking discussed in the case studies is a first step toward measuring a system’s inno- vative/entrepreneurial spirit. Transit agencies can “score” themselves using the following criteria: 1. Serving as community agents of change, 2. Optimizing rural resources, 3. Embracing technology, 4. Acting as entrepreneurs, 5. Providing effective service, and 6. Maintaining fiscal diversity. Communicating the Vision The material reviewed for this report included a number of publications related to change and innovation both indi- vidually and organizationally. These publications are well documented in TCRP Report 70. One outstanding example of how change happens was articulated by Jennifer James in her book Thinking in the Future Tense—A Workout for the Mind. Among many other lessons, she describes the need to clearly communicate the vision, the spirit, and the intent of change: One of the difficult aspects of change, particularly when it is accompanied by complex technology and multiplying data sources, is the ability to give up an old story and develop a new one. The “story” is a common sense version that folds the data into a set of ideas about “the way things ought to be.” Stories are often set up as myths, history or values when they may only be organizing systems for understanding reality. Leaders must be able to tell the “new story” if they expect their staff, constituency or client to accept their leadership or their product. Each of the transit managers interviewed had a clear vision and a message or “story” to communicate to their board, staff, and political, business, and community lead- ers. They have mastered the skill and art of communication, which is a great part of their success. AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH The synthesis case studies placed an emphasis on innova- tive and/or entrepreneurial spirit and an organization’s abil- ity to reinvent itself. Once the organization reinvents itself, innovation and change can occur as needed. It may be in the culture of change and innovation where future study in the area of innovation could take place. Focusing on the innova- tor and the conditions required for innovation is important. Further study can explore the attributes of an innovator and entrepreneur, how organizations are aligned, management and staff characteristics, and political issues. In addition, the transferability of an approach, succession planning to main- tain the culture, branding and visibility, and other factors that can help a reader build this sort of organization might be explored as well. As stated previously, it should make no difference whether a good idea is innovative or copied from elsewhere; a suc- cessful practice is a successful practice. Successful practices do not typically occur in isolated cases. There is value to a new successful practices guide to highlight operational and service design issues. Areas such as coordination and tech- nology, although important, have been studied extensively through previous TCRP and other research. An emphasis on operations and, most important, on route design (other than expensive paratransit) would have a beneficial impact on the rural transit community.

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TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 94: Innovative Rural Transit Services highlights transit and rural intercity bus service responses to changing rural community transportation needs. The report includes an emphasis on the innovative and/or entrepreneurial spirit, the innovator, and the conditions required for innovation.

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