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Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies (2021)

Chapter: Appendix A - Survey Questionnaire

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - Survey Questionnaire." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26204.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - Survey Questionnaire." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26204.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - Survey Questionnaire." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26204.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - Survey Questionnaire." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26204.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - Survey Questionnaire." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26204.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - Survey Questionnaire." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26204.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - Survey Questionnaire." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26204.
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99   A P P E N D I X A Survey Questionnaire Introduction The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) is conducting research for the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). The research project, TCRP Synthesis SH-20: Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small- to Mid-Sized Agencies, will document innovative practices for solving transit planning challenges faced by small and mid-sized transit agencies. This survey will help the research team identify the types of transit planning challenges faced by small and mid-sized transit agencies. Innovative and unique approaches to addressing transit planning challenges will be the focus of subsequent Case Studies, through which the research team will seek to document costs and impacts as well as “lessons learned.“ We anticipate that the information gained through this survey and the case studies will be useful to small and mid- sized transit agencies that are trying to figure out how to address transit planning challenges. The research will be summarized in a TCRP Synthesis report. This survey must be completed by February 14, 2019. Your answers will be saved every time you advance to the next page of the survey. If you return to the survey later using the unique invitation link provided to you (if applicable), you will be able to continue where you left off. You are encouraged to collaborate with your colleagues to complete the survey. The information you provide in response to this survey will be synthesized with information collected from other small and mid-sized transit agencies. Your answers will be confidential to the extent possible. Your participation in the survey is voluntary at all times. If you have questions, concerns, or complaints regarding this survey or the research project, you may contact Kelly Blume at 512-407-1170 or k-blume@tti.tamu.edu. You may be contacted by TTI after the survey is complete to help clarify your answers or obtain additional information. Do you agree to participate in this survey?  Yes  No

100 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies  Less than or equal to 4 million  More than 4 million and less than 10 million  At least 10 million 3. In what types of areas do you provide service? Check all that apply. £ Rural £ Suburban £ Urban 4. What type of organization is your agency?  Public transit agency, government, or other public entity  Non-profit or human services agency  For-profit private transportation provider or transportation contractor  Other ____________ About Your Transit Planning Challenges The research team has grouped transit planning challenges faced by small and mid-sized transit agencies into six categories: • Ridership and Demographic Shifts • First- and Last-Mile Transportation • Changes in Land Use • Service Design • Funding Challenges • Service Delivery and Technology Changes We would like your input on these categories. In this section of the survey, you will be asked to indicate your experience with the types of transit planning challenges that fall within each category, and you will have the opportunity to add new types of transit planning challenges to each category. Later, you will also have the opportunity to suggest revisions to the six categories and add new categories. Category #1: Ridership and Demographic Shifts Potential transit planning challenges in this category are: A. How can we increase ridership? B. How can we recover ridership that has been lost to other modes? C. How can we support aging in place? D. How can we adapt to serving a new market (such as choice riders)? E. How can we prepare for the impacts of Census 2020? 2. How many annual unlinked passenger trips does your agency provide? About Your Agency 1. Please provide the name of your agency and your contact information.

Survey Questionnaire 101   [If Yes] 5b. Please identify the transit planning challenge(s) you are currently facing or faced in the past five years. (You can refer to or copy and paste from the list above.) 6. Please identify any other transit planning challenges that should be added to this category. Category #2: First- and Last-Mile Transportation Potential transit planning challenges in this category are: A. How can we effectively provide first- and last-mile transportation (access to and from fixed-route transit)? B. What first- and last-mile connections should we focus on? C. How can we effectively work with others who provide first- and last-mile transportation (including transportation network companies and micromobility providers)? D. How can we effectively work with the agencies and governments that provide and maintain roads, sidewalks, and bicycle facilities? 7. Are you currently facing a challenge like these or have you faced such challenges in the past five years?  Yes  No [If Yes] 7b. Please identify the transit planning challenge(s) you are currently facing or faced in the past five years. (You can refer to or copy and paste from the list above.) 8. Please identify any other transit planning challenges that should be added to this category. Category #3: Changes in Land Use Potential transit planning challenges in this category are: A. How can we react effectively to changes in land use patterns (such as rural lands being developed with suburban uses)? B. How can we predict such changes and their likely impact on transit needs? C. How can we influence or participate in land use policy decision-making (such as land development code amendments)? 5. Are you currently facing a challenge like these or have you faced such challenges in the past five years?  Yes  No

102 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies 9. Are you currently facing a challenge like these or have you faced such challenges in the past five years?  Yes  No [If Yes] 9b. Please identify the transit planning challenge(s) you are currently facing or faced in the past five years. (You can refer to or copy and paste from the list above.) 10. Please identify any other transit planning challenges that should be added to this category. Category #4: Service Design Potential transit planning challenges in this category are: A. How can we design transit service that meets agency and community goals in the most cost-effective way? B. How can we determine what service structure is best for the community? C. How can we balance level of service provided and service coverage? D. What tools and investments do we need in order to develop and manage a particular type of service? E. Where can we get training on service design and service planning? F. How do we respond to new state or federal regulations that affect how we design service and manage our assets? 11. Are you currently facing a challenge like these or have you faced such challenges in the past five years?  Yes  No [If Yes] 11b. Please identify the transit planning challenge(s) you are currently facing or faced in the past five years. (You can refer to or copy and paste from the list above.) 12. Please identify any other transit planning challenges that should be added to this category. Category #5: Funding Challenges Potential transit planning challenges in this category are: A. How can we obtain funding to sustain current operations? D. How can we influence or participate in land development processes (such as site plan approvals)?

Survey Questionnaire 103   B. How can we obtain funding to support expansion? C. How can we develop sustainable, long-term funding sources? D. What funding options are out there, and how do we evaluate them? E. What are the pros and cons of the funding options available to us? F. What resources do we need in order to obtain and manage such funding sources? G. How do we develop in-kind contributions to offset our costs? H. How do we find local match? I. How do we respond to changes in regulations that impact our eligibility for specific funding sources? 13. Are you currently facing a challenge like these or have you faced such challenges in the past five years?  Yes  No [If Yes] 13b. Please identify the transit planning challenge(s) you are currently facing or faced in the past five years. (You can refer to or copy and paste from the list above.) 14. Please identify any other transit planning challenges that should be added to this category. Category #6: Service Delivery and Technology Changes Potential transit planning challenges in this category are: A. How can we improve the quality of transit service that we provide? B. How do we most effectively measure our current performance? C. How do we estimate the impacts of various investment alternatives on our performance? D. Which emerging technologies could help us improve performance? E. How do we implement those technologies? F. What resources (such as staff, equipment, funds, and training) are needed to support the new technologies and get the most value out of them? 15. Are you currently facing a challenge like these or have you faced such challenges in the past five years?  Yes  No [If Yes] 15b. Please identify the transit planning challenge(s) you are currently facing or faced in the past five years. (You can refer to or copy and paste from the list above.)

104 Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies 16. Please identify any other transit planning challenges that should be added to this category. Other Categories of Transit Planning Challenges 17. Please describe any other categories of transit planning challenges that should be included in this research. Please feel free to suggest modifications to Categories #1-6 as well (re-listed below for your reference). • Ridership and Demographic Shifts • First- and Last-Mile Transportation • Changes in Land Use • Service Design • Funding Challenges • Service Delivery and Technology Changes Case Study Development In the next phase of this research project, the research team will conduct Case Examples of innovative or unique approaches that small and mid-sized transit agencies (as well as large agencies serving lower-density communities) have used to address their transit planning challenges. This kind of information will be useful to other small and mid-sized agencies that are facing a similar challenge and are trying to figure out how to address it. This information will be included in a TCRP Synthesis report. The following questions will help us identify potential case studies. 18. In the past five years, have you successfully addressed at least one of the transit planning challenges previously listed (including any transit planning challenges you added to the categories)?  Yes  No [If Yes] 18b. Do you think your approach to addressing the transit planning challenge would be of interest to transit agencies that are facing a similar challenge?  Yes  No [If Yes] 18c. Please describe briefly the transit planning challenge you faced and your approach and its outcomes. If there is something about your approach that could be considered innovative or unique, please identify it. [If Yes] 18d. Would you be willing to participate in a case study in which we discuss by phone and e-mail your approach in more detail? If your approach is selected for a case study, the

Survey Questionnaire 105   research team will interview you and/or other staff from your agency and ask for data and documents to help us better understand your approach, its costs, and its impacts.  Yes  No [If Yes] 18e. Please provide contact information for the person with whom we should speak to arrange the case study. (The fields below are pre-filled using the information that you provided earlier. Please make any changes needed.) 19. If you are aware of any other transit agencies (including large agencies serving lower- density areas) that have successfully addressed their transit planning challenges using innovative or unique approaches, please identify these agencies and the transit planning challenge they addressed. Conclusion Thank you for participating in our survey! Your time and your input are greatly appreciated! We will provide you with a link to the Synthesis report when it is published. As noted at the beginning of the survey, if you have questions, concerns, or complaints regarding this survey or the research project, you may contact Kelly Blume at 512-407-1170 or k-blume@tti.tamu.edu. You may be contacted by TTI after the survey is complete to help clarify your answers or obtain additional information.

Next: Appendix B - List of Survey Respondents »
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Diverse small and mid-sized transit agencies are very interested in finding solutions for their transit planning challenges. They will benefit from seeing how similar agencies deal with their transit service issues. Large transit agencies could also apply what is learned to sub-areas in their transit service area that are comparable to the service area of a small or mid-sized transit agency.

The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 154: Innovative Practices for Transit Planning at Small to Mid-Sized Agencies documents innovative practices for solving transit planning challenges faced by small and mid-sized transit agencies. These challenges include but are not limited to concerns about ridership, demographic shifts, first- and last-mile transportation, changes in land use, changes in regulations, service design, funding challenges, service delivery, and technology changes. These challenges are applicable to fixed-route, flex-route, and demand-responsive transit services.

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