National Academies Press: OpenBook

Geographic Information Systems Applications in Transit (2004)

Chapter: CHAPTER THREE - SURVEY FINDINGS OF TRANSIT AGENCIES

« Previous: CHAPTER TWO - GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
Page 30
Suggested Citation:"CHAPTER THREE - SURVEY FINDINGS OF TRANSIT AGENCIES." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. Geographic Information Systems Applications in Transit. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23342.
×
Page 30
Page 31
Suggested Citation:"CHAPTER THREE - SURVEY FINDINGS OF TRANSIT AGENCIES." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. Geographic Information Systems Applications in Transit. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23342.
×
Page 31
Page 32
Suggested Citation:"CHAPTER THREE - SURVEY FINDINGS OF TRANSIT AGENCIES." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. Geographic Information Systems Applications in Transit. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23342.
×
Page 32
Page 33
Suggested Citation:"CHAPTER THREE - SURVEY FINDINGS OF TRANSIT AGENCIES." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. Geographic Information Systems Applications in Transit. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23342.
×
Page 33
Page 34
Suggested Citation:"CHAPTER THREE - SURVEY FINDINGS OF TRANSIT AGENCIES." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. Geographic Information Systems Applications in Transit. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23342.
×
Page 34

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.

17 CHAPTER THREE SURVEY FINDINGS OF TRANSIT AGENCIES INTRODUCTION This chapter uses information from the web-based survey on the use of GIS in the transit industry as conducted by the GeoGraphics Laboratory, Bridgewater State College, in 2002 and 2003. The results of the 2002 and preliminary results of the 2003 surveys are reported and compared with the information in the literature review to reveal trends in the use of GIS. The web-based survey updated the FTA survey efforts in 1991 and 1994. The latest survey results can be found at www.e-transit.org/survey/. This website also lists the respondents to the 2003 survey. The survey instrument can be accessed on the Moakley Center, GeoGraphics Laboratory website at www.e-transit.org. The methods of distribution of the survey request ac- counted for differences in the responses between 2002 and 2003. The 2002 survey yielded 74 responses and there were significant geographic disparities between FTA re- gions; some regions had no responses and some had very significant responses. The 2003 survey, sent directly from the GeoGraphics Laboratory to e-mail addresses in the FTA NTD, had a somewhat increased response rate (104) and wider geographic coverage than the 2002 survey. Both surveys, however, lacked adequate returns from larger tran- sit agencies, even though the FTA surveys of the 1990s in- dicated that some large transit properties were already ac- tive in applying GIS technology at that time. This was the primary reason why it was decided to focus on case studies of large transit agencies in this synthesis to balance the re- sults of the 1993 survey. BACKGROUND In 1991 and 1994, the FTA surveyed the industry for its use of GIS. Since then, geospatial information systems (a broader concept including more technologies) have ad- vanced dramatically in their ease of use and computing power. The integration of spatial data from GPS, includ- ing AVL systems installed on transit and paratransit vehi- cles and high-resolution remotely sensed imagery from satellites into geospatial information systems, has pushed the state of the art beyond most early expectations for “geographic” information systems. The FTA has pro- moted the transit applications of geospatial data collec- tion and analysis in ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance, Welfare to Work, Title VI (Civil Rights Act) compliance, rating supportive land use for New Starts capital projects, the promotion of transit use to national parks, customer information enhancements, coordinating human services transportation (HST), and now, anti- terrorist measures to protect transit infrastructure and ser- vices. In cooperation with the FTA, the GeoGraphics Labora- tory revised the FTA survey of current GIS use to include the broader technological advances in GPS applications and remotely sensed imagery. The survey was designed to be conducted on the Internet for ease of use and adminis- trative efficiency. The objective was to get a deeper under- standing of the many innovative ways that the transit indus- try is applying geospatial tools to respond to our 21st century challenges. The survey incorporated as many of the questions from the earlier 1990s FTA survey as possible to create a time series for historical analysis. This synthesis focuses on the results of the most recent surveys. RESULTS The results are presented as an abbreviated summary of the 2002 and 2003 surveys, focusing on the changes of signifi- cance to opportunities for GIS applications. Current Use of GIS by Transit Agencies In the first FTA GIS use survey in 1991, more respondents answered that they did not use GIS than those who an- swered in the affirmative (Figure 3). Since that time, the opposite has become true. In the 2002 survey, 50 agencies responded that they currently used GIS and 24 indicated that they did not. In the 2003 survey, 77 respondents (74%) indicated that they currently used GIS and 27 that they did not (see Figure 3). Notwithstanding that a considerable number of larger and presumably more technology- oriented agencies were absent from both surveys, it is rea- sonable to assume that there is currently considerable growth in the application of GIS among medium-sized transit agencies. The increase in GIS applications in transit may be the result of the increasing ease of use and lower cost of GIS software for entry-level users. There are also more high quality geographic data products from govern- ment and private vendors that make GIS applications more useful to transit planners and analysts.

18 FIGURE 3 Transit agencies using GIS, 1991–2003. Areas of Organization Where GIS Is Used Figure 4 shows the GIS application areas mentioned by the 2003 survey respondents. The most popular applications continue to be the traditional areas, including map prod- ucts, service planning, scheduling, and market analysis. The transit industry is also applying GIS to FTA policy and program areas, including Title VI (Civil Rights Act), Wel- fare to Work initiatives, ADA compliance, New (Rail) Starts analysis, and HST (paratransit). Although the num- ber of responses preclude any definitive conclusion about the rates of change between 2002 and 2003, it is clear that in the area of civil rights compliance, such as Title VI and ADA, there is a clear geospatial component to preventing discrimination at the local level that may account for in- creasing GIS use in these areas. A significant amount of change was registered between 2002 and 2003 in those transit industry topic areas that have inherent spatial and temporal characteristics (two ar- eas that are addressed by GIS technology). The areas of biggest growth are service planning, trip planning, para- transit scheduling (assisted by GIS), AVL systems, and transit electronic fare payment systems collected with on- board GPS. The increasing use of GIS in operations such as trip planning and AVL are a reflection of consumer- driven applications of GIS. These trends would be more evident but for the omission of the larger transit systems that generally are more technologically advanced than smaller systems. A significant undercount in these applica- tions may be inherent in these data. Regardless, the trend toward using locational technologies in transit is clear. GIS Products Although the sample size and type of respondents in the two surveys preclude any real conclusions related to mar- ket penetration by various vendors, the three vendors most often cited are Environmental Sciences Research Institute (ESRI), Caliper Corporation, and Maplnfo. This is similar to the finding of the literature review. FIGURE 4 GIS application areas: 2003 GIS survey. 0 20 40 60 80 100 1991 1995 2002 2003 Number of Survey Responses Yes No 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Anti-terrorism Security Complaints Accidents Other New Starts (Rail) Management Paratransit EPC/GPS Welfare-to-Work Trip Planning ADA AVL Marketing Title IV Scheduling Planning Mapping Number of Survey Responses

19 GIS Benefits The 2002 and 2003 surveys did not attempt to quantify benefits from the deployment of GIS. Rather, respondents were provided with an opportunity to answer the question, “How has GIS use benefited your organization?” Some comments that capture the range of responses are presented in Appendix C. Briefly, the comments echo the benefits of using GIS as described in the literature review, including: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Allows for the capture, analysis, and distribution of a greater volume and complexity of data; Improves communications with decision makers and the public through visualization of transit data. For example, better ability to visualize ridership data and bus stop information for greater comprehension of ridership patterns; Matches bus routes with demographic data to im- prove service quality; Increases productivity, improves interagency sharing, and coordinates geospatial information; Provides an excellent tool for analyzing policy issues (population served, market share, potential ridership, etc.); Assists in the development of paratransit maps for ADA compliance to illustrate the percentage outside of fixed-route system boundary; Assists in vehicle monitoring and in resolving issues with vehicle schedules; Enables automated trip itinerary planning, thus en- hancing strategic and service planning capabilities; Provides APC capabilities for bus and light rail plus a distributed analytical tool for route effective and effi- ciency analysis through GPS and GIS integration; and Aids in the development of applications for regional planning, including regional travel models, Welfare to Work analysis, and socioeconomic projections. Desired Improvements in GIS Capabilities The 2002 and 2003 survey respondents were asked what type of improvements they would like to see in their GIS capabilities. Responses were varied and wide ranging. Generally, they fall into the following categories: Management appreciation and support for the GIS program, Extending the GIS with Internet-based mapping and web–GIS services, Additional staff resources and training needed, Continuous improvement in base map accuracy and currency of transit data, Data sharing and exchange with other agencies, and Use of GIS with operations programs including AVL and trip itinerary planning. Source of Street Centerline Database Early in the application of GIS by the transit industry the acquisition of street networks was a major issue. The con- cerns were the accuracy of the attribute data (e.g., street names), the currency of the data (e.g., updated information for streets in new developments), and the resolution of the data (e.g., the locational accuracy at large-scale projection). Transit GIS in the 1980s relied on the U.S. Census Bureau Dual Independent Mapping Encoding (DIME) files to de- velop a street network on a mainframe computer. The GIS analyst of the 1990s could use a desktop computer and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Topologically Integrated and Geo- graphic Encoded Reference System (TIGER) files for de- veloping a GIS street network with a scale of 1:100,000. The analyst of 2002 and 2003 is using data products from the U.S. Census Bureau’s TIGER files, state DOTs, and other sources (largely identified as agencies of local gov- ernment) or commercial map vendors for timelier and geo- graphically accurate data for street networks. In the 1990s there was much concern about the quality of the available data and the amount of staff time it took to make street networks serviceable for transit industry needs. In the 2002 and 2003 surveys, government and private vendors appear to have solved this problem for most agencies. This is a significant improvement over the past decade and one of the supporting reasons why use of GIS is more widespread. Transit GIS Databases In the early days of applying computers to bus operations, nonspatial databases were developed to capture the spatial characteristics of linear routes by storing the street inter- sections for routes, timepoints, and bus stops. With the availability of GIS, spatial data was defined by points, lines, or polygons using latitude and longitude and their re- lationship to other geographic features. The 2002 and 2003 surveys show an increasing use of GIS databases to de- scribe the characteristics of transit, which is essentially a geographic business of moving people through space and time. Considering that when the FTA developed GIS data- bases of transit bus routes in 1994 and 1995 there were very few GIS route databases in existence, it is significant that this survey of predominantly small- and medium-sized transit agencies showed that 67 systems in 2003 had GIS databases of bus routes (Figure 5). Lastly, GIS bus stop in- ventories seem to be developing rapidly, as 27 were re- ported in 2002 and 51 in 2003. In the 1990s, very few tran- sit agencies had GIS databases of bus stops. Integration of Remotely Sensed Images The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) created a program to encourage the application

20 FIGURE 5 Types of transit spatial databases in 2003. of remote sensing and spatial IT for transportation. Early on, the program, administered by the Research and Special Programs Administration, worked with the FTA to promote applications of remote sensing to transit. This seems to be succeeding based on the increase in GIS applications be- tween 2002 and 2003; 41% and 49%, respectively. The clear trend between 2002 and 2003 is to use the locally produced aerial photography followed by the U.S. Geologi- cal Survey’s digital orthoquads and state-produced digital orthophotos. The commercial satellite business has begun to penetrate the transit market, even among the small- and medium-sized properties represented in the survey. Integration of Location Data from GPS The 1990s witnessed a major increase in the application of GPS within the transit industry. There appears to be several reasons for this development. First, a significant number of transit systems deployed AVL systems as developed by a number of vendors that often used GIS software to display the location data. Second, with the decision of the U.S. De- partment of Defense to stop introducing errors in the GPS signals available for civilian use (called Selective Availabil- ity) coupled with the declining cost of GPS receivers, GPS became the method of choice to locate geographic assets, such as bus stops and other amenities. GIS vendors and GPS manufacturers were quick to facilitate the download- ing of geographic data from GPS receivers into desktop GIS software for spatial analysis. The result was the crea- tion of unique geographic databases that could be readily updated in real time. GPS use was recorded in 52% of the 2003 survey respondents. Future Use of GIS The 2002 and 2003 surveys addressed the future use of geospatial data and analysis in transit by asking respon- dents which areas they would like to use GIS in addition to their current use. The most frequent response was the cus- tomer-oriented interactive travel planner application fol- lowed by the traditional areas of GIS applications, namely, service planning (including paratransit and FTA policy ar- eas) and map products. Displaying and analyzing AVL data is tied with police operations, including criminal investiga- tion, accident/incident investigation, security and counter- terrorism, as the next most wanted applications. Comparing the 2003 current use GIS applications to the future use for the same categories indicates the most likely areas to see GIS deployment in the future (Figure 6). For example, in 2003 the two largest current uses were service planning and map products, with more than half of the re- spondents reporting the use of GIS in these activities. These two categories were also among the highest responses FIGURE 6 Current and future use: 2003 GIS survey. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 New Starts Land Use Real Estate Assets Welfare to Work Ride Matching ADA Compliance EPC/GPS Title VI, Civil Rights Paratransit Scheduling Market Analysis Police Operations AVL Map Products Service Planning Interactive Travel Planner Number of Survey Responses Future Current 0 20 40 60 80 Other AVL Signposts Traffic Signals Police Response Incidents Accident Locations Vehicle Maint./Storage Rail Transit Routes Right-of-Way s Timepoints Bu Park & Ride Lots Transit Stations TAZs Zip Codes Bus Stops Political Boundaries Census Blocks Census Tracts Bus Transit Routes Number of Survey Responses Human Services Coord.

21 in the future category. Apparently, nearly every respondent who is not doing service planning or creating map products using GIS wants to. The next striking pattern is the dispar- ity between GIS users who are not currently using GIS in a particular specialized GIS application category, but report that they want to in the future. Most of these “would like to” areas relate to deployment of geospatial data collection and ITS components, including interactive travel planning, AVL, electronic fare payment using GPS data collection, and HST coordination using geospatial data collection and analysis. It is noteworthy that the transit police operations show a de- sire to use geospatial tools. SUMMARY OF SURVEY FINDINGS The 2002 and 2003 surveys used state-of-the-art web sur- vey instrument and database software designed to make the survey easy to use for transit industry responders. In both surveys, transit authorities and planning organizations with small- and middle-sized operations responded to these fea- tures. Larger transit properties and planning agencies were not responsive when compared with the results of surveys of the 1990s. In the latter surveys, FTA support contractors individually called the organizations and conducted the survey over the telephone. Although this was less efficient and beyond the resources of the 2002 and 2003 surveys it may have been more effective in gaining more responses from the transit industry. With this caveat, the 2003 survey attracted more than 100 responses and provided some use- ful insights into current and future practices. The features of GIS and GPS that have been so success- ful in business and government are also successful de- ployments in transit, including • • • Visualization and presentation of spatial phenomena (e.g., routes/stops and community demographics), Integration of geographic data from diverse sources based on geographic location, and Analysis of location considerations for market analy- sis and customer service. Integration of data from GPS for vehicle location and location of assets (stops, routes, rights-of-way) into GIS for display and analysis has been embraced by the transit in- dustry as GPS receivers and GIS software has become less expensive and easier to use. Moving GIS to the Internet for customer information is identified as a future consideration for many agencies and a current practice for some. Integra- tion of remotely sensed imagery is increasingly useful to transit applications. In particular, imagery is available to transit and planning agencies at little or no cost through lo- cal, state, and federal government sources. The integration of all three technologies: remote sensing, GPS, and GIS is becoming a very valuable tool for analysis and presentation to transit decision makers. In addition to spatial resolution, the enhanced temporal resolution (timeliness) inherent in these technologies is of particular relevance to transporta- tion analysis and customer service improvements. The contributions of geospatial information systems and analysis to federal programs, policies, and regulations are significant and apparently increasing in applications from 2002 to 2003. In order of frequency they are Title VI (Civil Rights) compliance, ADA compliance, Welfare to Work planning and operations, HST coordination, and New (Rail Transit) Starts land use supporting analysis. The relation- ship of geospatial information systems as the underlying technology for ITS is readily apparent in the current and future areas of applications in paratransit scheduling, AVL systems, on-board collection of electronic fare systems with GPS, and ride matching. Finally, in view of the role of GPS, remote sensing and GIS in law enforcement and homeland security, the in- crease in responses to current and future applications in accident/incident investigation, criminal investigation, se- curity, and counterterrorism from 2002 to 2003 may be significant.

Next: CHAPTER FOUR - GENERAL CASE STUDIES SURVEY RESULTS »
Geographic Information Systems Applications in Transit Get This Book
×
 Geographic Information Systems Applications in Transit
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 55: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Applications in Transit examines the value of GIS to transit agencies in service and cost savings. The synthesis summarizes the experiences of a variety of transit agencies, with information from small- and medium-sized transit operators, as well as from large transit agencies. It documents current practices, effective applications, and challenges.

READ FREE ONLINE

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!