Guidebook for Evaluating, Selecting, and Implementing Suburban Transit Services (2006)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

32 In the past 20 years, the types of land-use environments in which transit can be applied and be successful have increased. There are now many more land-use environments that support transit in its many forms. There are also many more tools avail- able to agencies to use as part of their planning process to estab- lish transit in their expanding environments. These tools include the use of GIS, which can assist in defining and refining the geographic, population, and market areas to be served. While no substantial patterns have emerged to define with certainty which types of transit will work in specific types of geographic area, the research furthered the knowledge base that transit professionals can use in understanding both the range of transit applications and the expectations for performance. Transit agencies can use the analysis of the four D’s—density, diversity, design, and deterrents to driving—in the further development of suburban services. Analysis of the four D’s is understandable for both transit professionals and general deci- sion makers. Although suburban transit appears to depend heavily on local conditions and expectations, this research can be of assistance to the transit community as the art and science of suburban transit moves past its infancy. The following trends were found for suburban transportation. Operating Environments Suburban environments are diverse. This diversity includes differences in markets to be served, as well as differences in the physical environment. Successful suburban service has cre- atively adapted transit practice to complement local land- scapes. Clearly, these findings support the continued integration of land-use planning and transit service planning as a means to continually strengthen transit’s ability to serve the ever-expanding suburban environments. Understanding the operating environment is increasingly important for transit professionals. GIS tools can be used substantially in this regard to display both physical and market attributes of the suburban environments, such that the types of services implemented can complement both the market and the regions. The four D’s— design, density, diversity, and deterrents to driving—can be readily adapted to local environments and conditions. Measurement and Evaluation Processes Measurement and evaluation processes need to reflect local priorities and conditions. What is deemed successful is a local issue, but transit professionals can educate local policy boards and communities to ensure that expectations for performance are understood. Denver RTD presents a clearly defined evalu- ation and performance measuring process for its services. A process such as this can provide both transit staff and policy boards with an informed knowledge base and help establish standards to be shared with the community. This process is particularly important because the development and sustain- ability of suburban services are now more than ever dependent on local investment, whether public or private. This study clearly points to more comprehensive service monitoring and evaluation programs as a means to move the practice forward. Currently, because of budget and time con- straints, evaluation is often an afterthought. To properly assess and control the provision of service, from both a cus- tomer and a cost investment perspective, it is essential for the transit community to understand and clarify its service per- formance expectations and to educate its policy boards and communities as to these expectations. The expectations must be understood and communicated if investments are to con- tinue to the level that will be required. Innovations There have been many innovations in the area of suburban transit, ranging from financial partnerships to the use of tech- nology in the implementation of service. These innovations will and should continue as they expand the opportunities available to the transit community. C H A P T E R 6 Lessons and Conclusions

33 Real-time information is a service to both customers and operators. Direct communication between operators and customers has enhanced transit’s ability to serve its markets more effectively and ultimately made transit more competi- tive and convenient. Financial partnerships now include private investment in capital resources and operating costs. Municipal investments are also a growing phenomenon, with local communities either (a) partnering with transit agencies to provide enhanced coverage to nontransit neighborhoods or (b) opt- ing on their own to supply resources for public transit access. Many suburban services are developed with the goal of expanding transit service coverage, which sometimes coun- ters the typical goal of fixed-route service, which is to maxi- mize productivity. Some suburban transit services incorporate the responsi- bility to deliver ADA complementary paratransit services by blending ADA-eligible clients into the suburban service solu- tions, thus eliminating the need for the separate ADA service. Future Research There were clear limitations of the research, mainly the inability to extend the findings of local case studies to a national format. The best use of this research approach is at the local level, with an emphasis on strengthening the rela- tionship between land-use planning and transit planning. At the local level, this approach can be a valuable tool in further- ing suburban transit planning. Additional research could focus on suburban alternatives to fixed-route service. In many communities, but primarily in suburban communities, alternatives to fixed-route service are an increasingly prevalent means of expanding service cover- age. These alternatives may also have the potential to further the federal priority of coordinating human services with pub- lic transit programs. Further research could also examine suburban transit alternatives for ADA paratransit service, because costs continue to outpace demand for ADA para- transit service in both urban and suburban locales.