Methods for Forecasting Demand and Quantifying Need for Rural Passenger Transportation: Final Workbook (2013)

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70 The Rural National Transit Database specifies data that are to be reported each year by rural systems. These data are necessary for FTA to determine the apportionment of funds made available under specific federal programs properly. However, these data do not provide a complete picture of the operations and use of rural passenger transportation services. Individual states, coordinating councils, or planning agencies may wish to implement more comprehensive data collection programs so as to develop a better understanding of the met and unmet needs in rural communities and the characteristics of the demand for rural passenger transportation services. Such data could be used to (1) identify areas having the greatest unmet need and (2) guide the allocation of state or local funds. In most rural communities, passenger transportation services are provided by both public tran- sit agencies and human service organizations—because of this, the requirement for Coordinated Public Transportation-Human Service Transportation Plans was developed. Preparation of these plans enables states and agencies to assemble data that can help identify met and unmet needs while systematically building a database that will support analysis of likely demand functions. Most public transit agencies collect the needed data: • Service provided–measured in vehicle-miles and/or vehicle-hours • Size of service area • Population served–by market segment • Trips (boardings) by trip purpose Human service agencies will often have some of these data but may not regularly report them. The following information from each human service agency would provide a more complete picture of transportation services: • Trips (boardings) served per time period • Unduplicated riders per time period • Size of the agency’s service area • Population, by market, of the agency’s service area • For programs offered by the agency: – Approximate number of program participants – Number of program events per week – The proportion of total program participants who attend the program on an average day – The proportion of program participants that are transit dependent and do not typically get a ride from family members–therefore requiring public transportation – Number of weeks per year that the program is offered State agencies charged with preparing coordinated plans may also find it useful to request all agencies—public transportation or human service—that receive state or federal assistance for the purchase or operations of vehicles to provide information about the sources of revenues, the amounts received from each route, and all expenditures on transportation. A P P E N D I X C Suggested Guidelines for Data Collection

Abbreviations and acronyms used without definitions in TRB publications: A4A Airlines for America AAAE American Association of Airport Executives AASHO American Association of State Highway Officials AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials ACI–NA Airports Council International–North America ACRP Airport Cooperative Research Program ADA Americans with Disabilities Act APTA American Public Transportation Association ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials ATA American Trucking Associations CTAA Community Transportation Association of America CTBSSP Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program DHS Department of Homeland Security DOE Department of Energy EPA Environmental Protection Agency FAA Federal Aviation Administration FHWA Federal Highway Administration FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FRA Federal Railroad Administration FTA Federal Transit Administration HMCRP Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 ITE Institute of Transportation Engineers MAP-21 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (2012) NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASAO National Association of State Aviation Officials NCFRP National Cooperative Freight Research Program NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NTSB National Transportation Safety Board PHMSA Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration RITA Research and Innovative Technology Administration SAE Society of Automotive Engineers SAFETEA-LU Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (2005) TCRP Transit Cooperative Research Program TEA-21 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (1998) TRB Transportation Research Board TSA Transportation Security Administration U.S.DOT United States Department of Transportation