Transit + Technology = Algorithm of Multiple Possibilities

If you are perturbed that the $230 transit benefit was not extended (the monthly benefit went back to $125 and the New York Times opinion page is not happy either), here are tools for transit and transit boosters.

According to 'I Hate the Blue Line' and Other Things Transit Systems Can Learn From Twitter, an article that appeared on the Atlantic's Cities page, transit systems should employ the free customer service data that twitter provides. What are the riders praising or complaining about? The answers are easier to find on twitter than via conventional tools, such as carefully-worded customer surveys, the author argues. I would agree that is the case in places where ridership is well connected - to apps and smartphones.

[Cute animal sculptures in Portland.]

What do people want in terms of public transportation? View this video from Kansas City. Lots of transit love and energy even from people accustomed to using their cars.

Penguins: Better than Mad Men?

And if you have 30 seconds of work time to waste, I mean be productive, view a transit ad from Belgium. Cute, has penguins; need I say more?

American Public Transportation Association
APTA's public transit ridership numbers are out and the numbers are up. What is causing the momentum in favor of transit? Thrift, environmental consciousness, quality improvements, free wifi, desire for a vacation from doing traffic battle before and after work?

This is a 2.0 percent increase over the same quarter last year, representing an increase of nearly 52 million trips. Ridership in all public transportation modes increased, led by light rail which increased by 5.8 percent.

This is also the first time in three years that ridership has increased for all three quarters. The ridership increase is attributed to a number of factors including high gas prices, improved real time passenger information, and a recovering economy.

The full ridership report is available. I usually read the whole thing, but this time I relied on the summary. If you have an extra 10 minutes or so, there are always thought-provoking details in the report as well as interesting statistics by mode and locations. APTA also posted an explanation about the transit benefit reduction and the increase in the parking benefit.

Can Technology Boost Ridership?

The answer is yes if the technology provides real-time information regionally. The Daily Iowan reports that ridership is up five percent in the one month since real-time information monitors were installed around the University of Iowa's campus - even in dorms. The article, Officials: Bus monitors help to increase ridership, goes into more detail, but implies that the transit system is the same otherwise, so that the jump in business is attributable to the one significant change. Thank you to the TransitWire for the link.

Interesting blog post from Planetizen about mapping health, commuting, income and educational patterns across the United States.

Societal Changes: Transportation for the Future and the Culture of the Government Workplace

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
AASHTO posts its illuminating collection of comments about what members of the public are hoping to see in our nation's future transportation system. The outreach effort has attracted over 200 comments and more than 24 youtube videos. AASHTO is posting both a summary and the entirety of the comments. To view the ongoing public commentary, visit http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=35722831748&topic=23652.

View AASHTO's facebook page, AASHTO Speaks, for a very active and interactive informational resource.

Window into the (Home) Workplace

Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT)
ACT links to information about the Status of Telework in the Federal Government, a report to Congress about teleworking patterns for 2009. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announces that "increasing the strategic use of telework is a high priority for President Obama and OPM," and candidly acknowledges that federal agencies have a long way to go in utilizing telework.

So why am I reading and writing about a report that discusses avoidance of travel? Transportation solutions to national challenges, in this case congestion, emissions, and even crowding on public transit, can include, as a part of the pie of solutions, less travel - assuming that those who telework do not use single occupancy vehicles for a bunch of additional trips on days worked at home. Also, the federal government is a major employment presence; its policies are the standard in DC and are considered instructive for other large institutions. In a town where snow prevents us from moving around and schools are closed for days, telework keeps the government working in emergencies.

In this day of instant communications, do we really all need to be at the office everyday? We have anecdotes and opinions, but the report has statistics. In the federal workforce, already 10 percent telework regularly, 12 percent occasionally and 23 percent are not permitted to telework though their jobs are amenable to such an arrangement. (Please note that due to data collection methods, these numbers are a snapshot, but are not exact.) Only 36 percent report a need to be physically present at the workplace to do their work. Obviously, a cafeteria worker or law enforcement officer cannot work from home.

Interestingly, in the lead are independent agencies, both large and small. Though the numbers of teleworkers tended to be older and have more years of experience, the percentages are fairly even across age groups and with minor differences for men and women. Maybe I just enjoy reading reports, but I found the statistics for workplace satisfaction interesting. The one cultural shift that OPM identified as needed to encourage teleworking is to increase the numbers of managers and supervisors who telework.

American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
APTA reports rising savings for using public transit (and walking or biking) instead of owning a car. Currently, the national average stands at "$9,904 annually and $825 per month based on the March 4, 2011 average national gas price ($3.47 per gallon-reported by AAA) and the national unreserved monthly parking rate." The savings are more impressive in the nation's largest - and most transit-rich cities - with savings of over $14,000 in New York and over $10,000 in Denver. Prices in metropolitan areas and other regions are not assessed; suburban and rural equivalents of the savings rates are not available.

In this same vein, the APTA savings report is featured in a CBS News story about the financial rationale for using transit, on the one hand, and, on the other, the revenue squeeze on transit that has prompted systems to reduce service and/or increase fares.

Public Participation: Not Necessarily Boring

If you are looking to promote public participation in transit promotion, planning and advocacy, view this creative video from Detroit, which uses legos and music to discuss the street configuration for the planned Woodward Ave. line.

Thanks to Chris Zeilinger, Director of the National Resource Center for Human Service Transportation Coordination (NRC) for finding the video material.

The Utah Transit Authority is promoting and using twitter to hear from its customer base about their preferences for service hours and routes. Although the transit system is also employing traditional public hearings and now old-fashioned email as well, management has respect for the thoughtful, quality 140-character (and fewer) tweets they have received.

Livability Goes Local

National Association of Counties (NACo)
From NACo's newsletter:

NACo will seek input from members about implementing federal livability goals through a new project led by the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), with support from U.S. Department of Transportation. The two-year project is intended to assist localities in building the governance, strategies and tools needed to create and implement regional transportation plans that support sustainable development. NARC and NACo will partner to offer listening sessions at upcoming NACo conferences.
Contact: James Davenport • 202.661.8807

High Demand for Intercity Bus Service and Insights into Quality Concerns of the Transportation Challenged

A few years ago, intercity bus companies took notice of successful routes that had sprung up to serve Chinatown in New York. Those companies and a few new ones changed the traditional model of station-to-station service and started curbside departures and arrivals, Internet-supplied tickets, free wifi, comfortable seating and very cheap prices compared to the airlines and Amtrak - prices competitive with driving.

Now a report highlighted by the American Bus Association, from DePaul University, The Intercity Bus: America’s Fastest Growing Transportation Mode - 2010 Update on Scheduled Bus Service, examines the numbers, the phenomenal increase in demand, though generally limited to major cities with good public transportation, that outstrips growth for air and long-distance train travel. Megabus alone boasts a one-year growth in ridership of almost 50 percent, with "33% ... a conservative middle-ground estimate of the growth in curbside traffic between the 4th quarter of 2009 and 2010."

Good Service Brings Alternative to Car Use and Ownership

Though Amtrak pointed to much more modest ridership increases this past year, Amtrak does not have the luxury of adding service and destinations very easily. The bus phenomenon of the last few years demonstrates the potential demand for long-distance service even in places where that demand has not been addressed. Indeed, the bus phenomenon also shows that for "discretionary riders" a nice atmosphere goes a long way, even without the guarantee of on-time arrival that a train generally delivers.

The report makes the rather large claim that:

curbside buses encourage “transit lifestyles” that place comparatively little emphasis on single-occupant automobile travel (and more emphasis on common-carrier providers) and thus apparently lower carbon footprints per mile traveled.

I think that intercity buses are a piece of the mobility puzzle for many people, a piece that means a car is not a necessity for everyone. The buses also provide a cost-effective way for families to reduce car use, which the train and air travel do not provide, a fact in evidence on the highways during the Thanksgiving weekend and the winter holidays every year.

Sea of Buses

In contrast to even a few years ago, now when you are entering the Lincoln Tunnel to head into the city for Thanksgiving, you see a sea of buses, a good percentage of which are these intercity carriers. And to what do we owe this recent change in the mobility landscape? A flexible private sector that has the ability to make changes without the delay of regulatory changes, infrastructure building and repair, and the other factors that slow down public endeavors. Not saying the private sector can do it all, just that this is a good example of its role in publicly-available transportation as well as the insights into markets that the private sector provides and that other public and private modes can learn from.

Deviating from Private Car Ownership

And intercity buses are not the only part of the private market that is seeing increases, creative car sharing businesses are being developed and spreading. Still an urban phenomenon, companies like Flex Car are branching out into more cities. RelayRides adds a new type of business model to the mix. The company, backed by Google, enables people to rent out their cars to friends or strangers for a nominal fee with a standard agreement that includes an insurance arrangement. Read about one person's experience in the Cambridge area. It started in Cambridge and is commencing service in San Francisco.

Different Picture in the Heartland

In the heartland of South Dakota, the availability of mobility options is a very different situation than in the urban centers on the East and West coasts. This is not a transit-rich area; in fact, for people with disabilities, the need is all too real. Assessing Existing and Needed Community Transportation for People with Disabilities in North Dakota outlines the challenges - "Adequate shelter from the weather while waiting, inconvenient schedules, and having a place to sit while waiting were most often cited as a major problem for people with disabilities." Added to the list a little more into the report is difficulty of boarding.

These seem like universal design issues. Though adequate shelter, for example, might allow a person with a disability to ride transit, it also makes transit more welcoming to the parent with a toddler and the guy who is considering taking the bus during the winter. Aspects of street accessibility to transit were listed as problems for more than half of the survey respondents, as was safety and travel information.

[T]hose who do not use transit were significantly more likely to say service is not available, transit users were less likely to think they are not capable of riding, and those who used transit in the past but do not anymore were more likely to say they do not have enough information.

The results indicate it is not lack of need that keep people with disabilities from using public transportation. Rather, lack of service, lack of information, thinking they are not capable of riding (whether true or not), and fear of riding can likely explain many of the differences between those who use public transportation and those who do not.

Insights into Quality of Paratransit Service

The report also addresses the challenges of using paratransit and the unique situation of people with cognitive impairments.

Two-thirds of respondents said that service not being available when they need it was a problem; 35% said it was a major problem. Other significant problems were unkept schedules for pickups and drop-offs or long waits, the need for scheduling trips too far in advance, and trip times that are too variable or unpredictable. Respondents were least concerned about the vehicles, in terms of their mechanical condition, accessibility, and seating availability.

This is an insightful and detailed study that would be helpful to anyone in transit or those serving people with disabilities. Really, it shows the opportunities in terms of demand and advances in quality of life that mobility options, sometimes the synergy of pedestrian-friendly streets and transit, sometimes other options, can provide.

Spreading the Seedlings of Creativity

I think that the innovations of the private market in cities, the willingness of Americans all over the country to vote for more public transportation funding, and the increasing unattractiveness of a fuel-intensive lifestyle will spur changes in places like South Dakota. Maybe different models of volunteer driver programs and vanpooling are just around the corner for rural areas and other places where people do not wish to or are unable to drive.

Here's to allowing Americans all over the country to have more and better mobility options. Next year, I want to hear about how you picture mobility; I want to learn from you about places where good transportation choices (be they taxis or shared rides), good street networks and good transit are working. Let's learn from the success stories, build upon them, and adapt them to the amazing quilt of places of we live in.

Public Opinion Shows Routes to Attractive Transit

APTA's recent edition of its newsletter, Public Transport, linked to a Montreal Gazette article that listed the top 10 reasons why people in the City of Windsor, right across the border from Detroit, take public transit.

No surprise that cost considerations topped the list and that the desire to be good environmental citizens appeared, but other reasons included my grandfather's favorite, napping on the bus or train, time to catch up on reading, and chore and errand preparation (writing up shopping lists are safely done on the bus). For me the surprises showed that public transit can attract everyone on the economic ladder, from the transportation-challenged to the folks with a Porsche parked in the driveway. Above environmental concerns were comfort and convenience, less stress than driving, and, ranking somewhat lower, the rare opportunity to do absolutely nothing.

Last on the list and therefore squeaking into the top 10? Exercise to and from the stop or station.

Speaking of making transit more attractive, the Fast Company post about designing bus stops is a must read for giving the public what it wants from transit, bus stops that are attractive and useful, with route and waiting information clearly posted.

I also could not resist a post that began: "Having grown up in New York in the '70s, public transportation holds a special place in my heart."