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58 APPENDIX C Transit Geographic Information Systems Benefits: Respondents Comments to 1993 Survey The following is a sample of the comments made by transit agencies to the perceived benefits of GIS to their agency in the FTA-sponsored survey conducted by Bridgewater Col- lege in Massachusetts. ⢠âGIS has benefited our organization by allowing us to capture, analyze, and distribute a greater volume and complexity of data to our entities.â ACOG, Okla- homa City, OK ⢠âWe all benefit from GIS, in that it is a tool that helps people grasp a concept by viewing it spatially.â RADCO/FAMCO, Fredericksburg, VA ⢠âIntegrated data and geography. Allows enhancement of data analysis and spatial relationships. Automates operations.â Capitol District Transit Authority, Al- bany, NY ⢠âAllows us to match bus routes with city services and census data.â Indianapolis Public Transportation Cor- poration, Indianapolis, IN ⢠âWe can measure phenomena, analyze relationships, and otherwise make better decisions. We have also found that the GIS system outputs (maps and reports) are more effective communications tools.â Metropoli- tan Council, St. Paul, MN ⢠âIncreases productivity, improves interagency sharing and coordination of geospatial information.â Abilene MPO, Abilene, TX ⢠âProduce better maps/displays for reporting to gov- erning board. Better ability to visualize ridership data and bus stop information for greater comprehension of ridership patterns. Ease of analysis of ridership with respect to route segments.â Milwaukee County Transit System, Milwaukee, WI ⢠âIntegrated separate databases into one centralized GIS.â Regional Transit District, Denver, CO ⢠âExcellent tool for analyzing policy issues (popula- tion served, market share, potential ridership, etc.). For customer service, we have included a map-based schedule on the web to provide schedules at each bus stop. Also, we use GIS for our bus stop database to identify locations and signage/facilities at each stop.â Unitrans, Davis, CA ⢠âIt has aided us in developing paratransit maps for ADA compliance to illustrate that % mile outside of our fixed-route system. This assures MTA is (1) ADA compliant, (2) It has matched ridesharing for van- pools/carpools, and (3) It has aided in developing maps for transit service planning.â Des Moines MTA, Des Moines, IA ⢠âVisual graphics help communicate answers to prob- lems. Thematic mapping is excellent tool. GIS offers numerous tools: database analysis, charts, maps, etc.â Central Ohio Transit Authority, Columbus, OH ⢠âHelps keep our vehicles on time and on route. It also helps resolve issues with passenger stating vehicle never arrived.â Greater AttleboroâTaunton RTA, Taunton, MA ⢠âPrimarily as an internal engine to our CAD/AVL system for regular route dispatching. Also, for demo- graphic analysis using passenger data and as a map edit maintenance tool.â Capital District Transit Au- thority, Albany, NY ⢠âAllowed staff to analyze census/CTPP (Census Transportation Planning Package) data in graphic form.â Lawton MPO, Lawton, OK ⢠âIt has helped our dispatching operations tremen- dously. There is still so much more that it could do for us if we had the manpower to help make our software work for us.â Brazos Transit District, Bra- zos, TX ⢠âQuality, accuracy, and productivity of work have greatly improved.â VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio, TX ⢠âGIS enables our agency to provide automated trip itinerary planning. It enhances our strategic and ser- vice planning capabilities and it contributes to the improved efficiency and safety of our transit opera- tions.â Community Transit, Everett, WA ⢠âIt has made us more productive in working on bus stops and route planning. It has made AVL technol- ogy available and useful.â City of Visalia, Visalia, CA ⢠âGIS programs and maps have been widely utilized to assist service planning, transportation demand modeling, policy analysis, and presentations of major transportation improvement projects in Los Angeles County.â LA County MTA, Los Angeles, CA ⢠âWe are able to track their movement, identify cus- tomer stops, and assign new passengers to best suited routes.â Ottumwa Transit Authority, Ottumwa, IA ⢠âAbility to do computer-assisted paratransit schedul- ing, ADA complementary paratransit trip eligibility, flex-route planning, demographic analysis of service alternatives, thematic mapping of service usage for community presentations; soon to add AVL and MDTs.â York County Transportation Authority, York County, PA ⢠âGPS and GIS have given us automatic passenger counting capabilities for bus and light rail plus a dis-
59 tributed analytical tool for route effective/efficiency analysis.â Bi-State Development Agency, St. Louis, MO ⢠âImproved communication of information to public, co-workers, and decision makers. Facilitates the processing, analysis, and storage of all data with a spatial component.â Baltimore Metropolitan Council, Baltimore, MD ⢠âPublishing maps, integrating databases, travel- demand forecasting, analyzing ridership trends, fa- cilities management. Basically, it gives us a tool to get departments to share data that we did not do pre- viously.â Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Au- thority, Washington, DC ⢠âGIS has allowed the LVPC to develop applications that assist us in our spatial analysis. GIS is used in the de- velopment of the Lehigh Valley regional travel model, Welfare-to-Work analysis, socioeconomic projections, determinations of ADA service areas, etc.â Lehigh Val- ley Planning Commission (LVPC), Allentown, PA