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GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS IN TRANSIT SUMMARY Over the years, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology has been implemented for a variety of purposes within the transit industry. With this have come many new uses, benefits, and challenges. The purpose of this effort is to survey a variety of transit agencies to document current practices, effective applications, and challenges in GIS technology. This synthesis provides a state-of-the-practice review of the application of GIS in transit planning and operations. It will be of interest to transit practitioners and researchers including techni- cal staff, transit managers, and vendors of GIS solutions. The synthesis illustrates the value of GIS to transit agencies in service provision and in potential cost savings. The synthesis includes a broad-based literature review, supplemented by information from a survey of transit agencies and case studies of five large transit operators. It covers the full range of transit services including planning, operations, management, information tech- nology, and customer service. The review of GIS technology includes the historical devel- opment of GIS and its business organization among transit agencies, which is broadly cate- gorized at three levels of implementation: project-, department-, and enterprise-wide. Although agency size generally corresponds to these levels, size alone is not the only determinant of GIS deployment. Commitment from the agency toward the GIS program and its historical development within an agency also influence its development path. Beyond the agency, there are resources available to support GIS implementations from vendors, federal and local gov- ernments, and industry initiatives such as the intelligent transportation services. These are reviewed together with national initiatives in geospatial technologies and standards for tran- sit information systems. A literature review of GIS publications for transit provides examples of applications mov- ing beyond the traditional areas of planning and information systems into planning, opera- tions, management, information technology, and customer service. The review of the litera- ture and technology demonstrates the variety of uses of GIS in transit. It is evident that this use is growing and that the technology is now mature enough to be considered a core tech- nology in transit service delivery. There have been significant advances in GIS technology, in its user-friendliness and capabilities to link to non-GIS programs such as scheduling, trip itinerary planning, and automatic vehicle location (AVL). GIS thus enables these other tech- nologies and can present the information to the public in a visual manner that they under- stand. The public is becoming more accustomed to on-line maps, and transit programs that do not include maps lack visual appeal. Following the technology review is an analysis of the results of the 2002 and 2003 transit GIS survey conducted by the GeoGraphics Laboratory at Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. This web-based survey elicited more than 100 responses from mainly small-to-medium-sized agencies. The results show the growing use of GIS across a broad spectrum of application areas, including the traditional areas of building inventories of bus stops, routes and schedules, and in service planning and analysis, as well as newer appli-
2 cation areas such as AVL and trip itinerary planning systems. There is also a growing use of GIS in response to FTA policies and regulations, such as Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, Title VI programs, Welfare to Work programs, and paratransit services. The re- sults also reveal a desire for more use of GIS in areas of security and police operations. There are currently few examples of this but it appears to be an area for future growth and development. Because the 2002 and 2003 surveys are somewhat skewed toward small- and medium- sized transit agencies, it was decided to conduct detailed case studies of five large transit agencies. The case studies demonstrate a number of innovative uses of GIS as well as illus- trate how GIS is becoming part of mainstream information technology and a core technology in transit information services. An example of this is the use of GIS and global positioning systems in AVL applications, which require the capture and display of real-time data. There are also some interesting projects that are interfacing GIS with other multimedia such as im- ages and video technologies, both to record information on transit assets as well as in com- munity participation exercises. Clearly, to engage in these more advanced projects requires resources and staff with special skills. Nevertheless, these applications indicate the direction of GIS integration. As the technology has evolved and become more user friendly, it is more widely available to users on their desktops or through the Internet. There is less need for GIS specialists to perform basic services such as map production or the answering of simple que- ries. Rather, they are engaged in more specialized tasks such as geodatabase management, applications development, and systems integration. The constituency of users of GIS in a typical large transit agency is now very broad and spread across multiple departments. The synthesis highlights the range of GIS applications and draws some conclusions on the evolution of GIS through different stages of development within transit agencies. GIS implementation has its own requirements for data, human capital, tools, and applications. GIS is a technology with many benefits and adds value to transit planning and operations. It has proved to be a catalyst for the integration of transit business and geographic data, devel- oped new types of applications that can take advantage of geographic data, and enhanced the information technology capabilities of transit agencies with new tools for visualization and dissemination of transit data to internal and external customers. These benefits are not al- ways evident in transit programs and sometimes difficult to identify within the broader insti- tutional setting. The challenge for GIS is how to justify investment in its growth and devel- opment beyond the traditional application areas. The case studies provide some examples of how this breakthrough is being accomplished and provide pointers to the future applications of GIS. Finally, the synthesis identifies some gaps in knowledge and information on transit GIS and makes some suggestions for further research.
