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61Â Â Survey Instrument A P P E N D I X A
62 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service Figure A-1. Flowchart showing survey sections and conditional logic.
Survey Instrument 63  TCRP SG-17: The Use and Practice of ITS in Real-Time Headway-Based Service Bus Operations The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) is leading research for the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) on the use of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) in real-time headway-based bus service. The research [project], TCRP SG-17: The Use and Practice of Intelligent Transportation Systems in Real-Time Headway-Based Service Bus Operations, will document transit systemsâ current use of ITS technologies to support headway-based bus service. This survey is the first step in the research project and needs to be completed by February 28, 2020. This survey will take approximately 10â15 minutes to complete and allows you to save your work and return to finish the survey later. This survey will ask questions about technology and bus operations at your agency, including: ⢠Headway-based bus service. ⢠ITS technologies. ⢠Dispatching. The information you provide will be synthesized with information collected from other transit professionals. Your answers will be confidential to the extent permitted or required by law. Your participation is greatly appreciated. If you have questions, concerns, or complaints regarding this study, you may contact Chris Simek at 512-407-1153 or c-simek@tti.tamu.edu. You must be at least 18 years old to participate in the survey. You may be contacted by TTI to help clarify your answers or gather additional information. Q1 Do you agree to participate in this research? Yes No Q2 Screener Questions Q3 This survey invitation has been prepared for [Agency Name] in [Agency City]. Are you affiliated with this transit agency? Yes No
64 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service Q4 Headway-based bus service is bus service that operates, for at least a portion of a day, according to a scheduled headway (e.g., every 10 minutes) instead of according to a fixed schedule of arrival/departure times at time points. To qualify as headway-based bus service, operation and supervision of the service must be based mainly on maintaining headways for at least a portion of the day. Do you personally have knowledge of the transit agencyâs use of headway-based bus service, ITS technology, and dispatching practices? Yes No Q5 Do you know who has knowledge of the transit agencyâs use of headway-based bus service, ITS technology, and dispatching practices? Yes No Q6 Please provide the contact information of the individual who has knowledge of the transit agencyâs use of headway-based bus service, ITS technology, and dispatching practices. Name ________________________________________________ Email ________________________________________________ Phone ________________________________________________ Q7 Does your transit agency have headway-based bus service? Yes, fully implemented Yes, in transition or testing phase No
Survey Instrument 65Â Â Q8 Which of the following ITS technologies does your transit agency use? Please check all that apply. Automatic passenger counters (APCs) Automatic vehicle location (AVL) Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) Electronic fare payment Passenger information systems Security systems (e.g., onboard cameras) Smartphone application for real-time arrival information (or provide real-time arrival data to third-party app developers) Transit signal priority (TSP) None of the above Q9 No Headway-Based Service Q10 Which of the following best describes the status of headway-based service at your agency? The agency is conducting pilot testing The agency is conducting a feasibility study The agency is considering headway-based service in the future (no feasibility studies or pilot tests) The agency has no plans to implement headway-based service Q11 No ITS
66 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service Q12 Which of the following best describes the status of ITS at your agency? The agency is conducting pilot testing of one or more technologies The agency is conducting a feasibility study of one or more technologies The agency is considering ITS in the future (no feasibility studies or pilot tests) The agency has no plans to implement any ITS technologies Q13 How does your agency manage its headway-based bus service without ITS? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Q14 Headway-Based Service Q15 How many bus routes are operated by headway? ________________________________________________________________ Q16 What is the target headway on these routes during weekday peak hours? Please check all that apply. 0â5 minutes 6â10 minutes 11â15 minutes Greater than 15 minutes
Survey Instrument 67Â Â Q17 What is the target headway on these routes during weekday off-peak hours? Please check all that apply. 0â5 minutes 6â10 minutes 11â15 minutes Greater than 15 minutes Q18 What year did your agency start using headway-based service? ________________________________________________________________ Q19 Which of the following reasons were reasons for adopting headway-based service? Please check all that apply. Address operational problems (e.g., schedule adherence or bus bunching) Reduce bus requirements Response to increase in service frequency Simplify passenger information Other, specify ________________________________________________
68 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service Route type (e.g., BRT) Bus frequency/headways (i.e., a minimum number of buses per hour) Observed service problems (e.g., significant reliability or bunching problems) Street or bus corridor type Overall route ridership Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q21 ITS in Headway-Based Service The following questions will ask how your agency uses ITS technologies to support headway- based service. Q22 How are automated passenger counters used? Please check all that apply. Track vehicle loading in real time Collect passenger counts for later analysis APC is not currently used for monitoring and control Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q20 Which of the following criteria does your agency use to select bus routes for headway-based service? Please check all that apply.
Survey Instrument 69Â Â Provide real-time passenger information Record bus trajectories for later analysis AVL is not currently used for monitoring and control Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q24 How is computer-aided dispatch used? Please check all that apply. Monitor bus headways Implement control strategies (e.g., instruct driver to hold at a stop to correct headway violation) Respond to incidents (e.g., bus breakdown or road closure) Computer-aided dispatch is not currently used for any of the above options for headway-based service Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q25 How is electronic fare payment used? Please check all that apply. Track vehicle loading in real time Collect passenger counts for later analysis Electronic fare payment data are not currently used for monitoring and control Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q23 How is automated vehicle location used? Please check all that apply. Track bus location in real time Estimate real-time headways
70 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service Q26 What information is communicated via passenger information systems? Please check all that apply. Scheduled bus arrivals Real-time bus arrivals Incidents and service disruptions Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q27 How are security systems used? Please check all that apply. Track vehicle loading in real time Viewed by dispatchers or supervisors to see real-time traffic conditions Viewed by dispatchers when alerted by alarm or incident reports Data saved for later analysis or law enforcement use Not currently used for monitoring and control Q28 What information is communicated via the agencyâs smartphone application (or provided to third-party app developers)? Please check all that apply. Scheduled bus arrivals Real-time bus arrivals Incidents and service disruptions Other, specify ________________________________________________
Survey Instrument 71Â Â Q29 How is transit signal priority used? Please check all that apply. Buses behind their target headway can request priority Buses ahead of their target headway are denied priority Buses behind their scheduled arrival time can request priority All buses request TSP, regardless of their real-time headway or schedule deviation Other, specify ________________________________________________
72 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service Synchromatics Trapeze TripSpark Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q30 What vendors supply the ITS equipment used in headway-based bus service? Please check all that apply. Avail Centracs Clever Devices ETA Transit Systems INIT Opticom Routematch Siements Swiftly
Survey Instrument 73Â Â Q31 Does your agencyâs ITS send or receive data from other systems? Please check all that apply. City County Metropolitan planning organization (MPO) State department of transportation (DOT) Third-party data provider The agency does not receive data from other systems Q32 What data does your agency receive from these other systems? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________
74 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service Q33 Which of the following operational strategies are used to maintain headways or correct bunching and gapping? Please check all that apply. Boarding limits (including drop-off only) Holding at control points Short turns Speed guidance Stage vehicles/bus insertion Stop skipping Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q34 What type of rule is used to impose boarding limits? Please check all that apply. Passenger count Headway deviation Maximum dwell time Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q35 In the text box, please specify the passenger count, headway deviation, dwell time, or other value required to trigger boarding limits. You may specify an exact number or a range. Please specify the units. Passenger count ________________________________________________ Headway deviation ________________________________________________ Maximum dwell time ________________________________________________
Survey Instrument 75Â Â Q36 What headway deviation is required to hold a bus? Please indicate whether your answer is in seconds, minutes, or percentage. ________________________________________________________________ Q37 How is the holding time determined? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Q38 What is the typical spacing between control points? Please indicate your unit of measurement (e.g., feet, miles, or stops). ________________________________________________________________ Q39 What rule is used to determine when to execute a short turn? ________________________________________________________________ Q40 What type of speed guidance is provided to drivers? ________________________________________________________________ Q41 What rule is used for adding a vehicle to the headway-based service, either staged or from the garage? ________________________________________________________________ Q42 How many vehicles are typically staged to be used as inserts? ________________________________________________________________
76 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service Headway deviation Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q44 In the text box, please specify the required passenger count or headway deviation to skip a stop. You may specify an exact number or a range. Please indicate your unit of measurement (e.g., passengers, or headway deviation seconds or minutes) ________________________________________________________________ Q45 What infrastructure is used to support headway adherence? Please check all that apply. Dedicated bus lanes Queue jumps Off-board fare payments All-door boarding Bus stop bulbs None of the above Other, specify ________________________________________________ Q46 Does your agency have dispatchers (or supervisors in the field) dedicated to monitoring headway-based service for at least a portion of the day? Yes, dedicated dispatchers only monitor headway-based services Yes, but dedicated dispatchers may also monitor schedule-based services at the same time No Q43 What type of rule is used to skip stops? Passenger count
Survey Instrument 77Â Â Yes No Q48 Regarding maintenance, approximately how often does your agency update the software in ITS technologies? More often than once every 3 months Once every 3â6 months Once every 6 monthsâ1 year Once every 1â3 years Less often than once every 3 years Only in response to problems We have not yet updated ITS software Q49 Performance Monitoring and Benefits The next few questions will ask how your agency monitors the performance of headway-based bus service and perceives the benefits of this service delivery. Q47 Does your agency have any dispatcher training or standard operating procedures specific to headway-based service?
78 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service Q50 How does your agency quantitatively measure the performance of headway-based service? We do not measure performance quantitatively Headway adherence (a measure of how many times buses actually arrive within a desired headway deviation tolerance) Headway variability (a measure of the variability of actual headways) Corridor or route bus travel times Bus travel time variability Number of trips Passenger waiting time Passenger waiting time variability Passenger satisfaction Other, specify ________________________________________________
Survey Instrument 79Â Â Q51 Using a scale of 1 (made significantly worse) to 5 (made significantly better), please evaluate the impact of launching a headway-based service on the following factors. 1âMade significantly worse 2âMade somewhat worse 3âNo impact 4âMade somewhat better 5âMade significantly better Unknown Headway adherence Headway variability Bus travel times Bus travel time variabilities Ridership Passenger waiting time Passenger waiting time variability Passenger satisfaction
80 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service Q52 Using a scale of 1 (not useful at all) to 3 (very useful), please evaluate the useful need of the following ITS technologies in operating headway-based service. 1âNot useful at all 2âSomewhat useful 3âVery useful N/A Automatic passenger counters Automatic vehicle location Computer- aided dispatch Electronic fare payment Passenger information systems Security systems Smartphone application Transit signal priority
Survey Instrument 81Â Â Q53 Using a scale of 1 (not effective at all) to 3 (very effective), please evaluate the effectiveness of the following operational strategies at managing headways. 1âNot effective at all 2âSomewhat effective 3âVery effective N/A Boarding limits (including drop- off only) Holding at control points Short turn Speed guidance Stage vehicles/ bus insertion Stop skipping Q54 Participant Information Q55 The survey is nearly complete. Please provide your name, title, and contact information in case we have any questions. Name ________________________________________________ Title ________________________________________________ Email ________________________________________________ Phone ________________________________________________
82 Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service No Q57 Please provide contact information for the peer transit agency that has headway-based service and may be interested in this survey. Agency name ________________________________________________ Contact person name ________________________________________________ Contact email ________________________________________________ Q58 Thank you for participating in this survey. Please advance so your information will be recorded. Q59 Thank you for completing our survey! Your input is greatly appreciated, and we will be happy to provide you with a link to the synthesis report when it is published. We hope that the information contained in this report will be helpful to your agency in operating your existing headway-based bus service and in planning new deployments. We may reach out to you in the future to obtain additional clarification or information. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this research, please contact the principal investigator, Paul Anderson, at p-anderson@tti.tamu.edu or 210-321-1238. Q56 Do you know of any peer transit agencies that have headway-based service and may be interested in this survey? Yes