TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
TCRP RESEARCH REPORT 239
Provision of Alternative Services by Transit Agencies
THE INTERSECTION OF REGULATION AND PROGRAM
Elizabeth “Buffy” Ellis
Sarah Lasky
Ridhima Mehrotra
KFH GROUP, INC.
Bethesda, MD
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Will Rodman
Todd Hansen
TEXAS A&M TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE
Dallas and Houston, TX
Subject Areas
Public Transportation • Operations and Traffic Management • Passenger Transportation
Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the American Public Transportation Association
TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
The nation’s growth and the need to meet mobility, environmental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency, and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is necessary to solve operating problems, adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and introduce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it.
The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special Report 213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions, published in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration—now the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Transportation 2000, also recognized the need for local, problem-solving research. TCRP, modeled after the successful National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), undertakes research and other technical activities in response to the needs of transit service providers. The scope of TCRP includes various transit research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment, facilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and administrative practices.
TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. Proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was authorized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum agreement outlining TCRP operating procedures was executed by the three cooperating organizations: FTA; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, acting through the Transportation Research Board (TRB); and APTA. APTA is responsible for forming the independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Commission.
Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the TOPS Commission to formulate the research program by identifying the highest priority projects. As part of the evaluation, the TOPS Commission defines funding levels and expected products.
Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel appointed by TRB. The panels prepare project statements (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide technical guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing cooperative research programs since 1962. As in other TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without compensation.
Because research cannot have the desired effect if products fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on disseminating TCRP results to the intended users of the research: transit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other supporting material developed by TCRP research. APTA will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban and rural transit industry practitioners.
TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can cooperatively address common operational problems. TCRP results support and complement other ongoing transit research and training programs.
TCRP RESEARCH REPORT 239
Project B-48
ISSN 2572-3782
ISBN 978-0-309-69854-2
© 2023 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP.
NOTICE
The research report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors.
The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications.
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COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR TCRP RESEARCH REPORT 239
Christopher J. Hedges, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Gwen Chisholm Smith, Manager, Transit Cooperative Research Program
Mariela Garcia-Colberg, Senior Program Officer
Emily Griswold, Program Coordinator
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications
Claire Aelion-Moss, Editor
TCRP PROJECT B-48 PANEL
Field of Service Configuration
Jameson Auten, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (formerly), Kansas City, MO (Chair)
Timothy Barham, GRTC Transit System, Richmond, VA
Ron L. Brooks II, Accessible Avenue, LLC, Phoenix, AZ
Bonnie Epstein, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, Saint Petersburg, FL
Jon Gaffney, Golden Gate Transit, San Rafael, CA
Tammy Haenftling, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), Dallas, TX
Carol L. Ketcherside, Valley Metro, Phoenix, AZ
Bonnie Graves, FTA Liaison
Thomas Scotton, FTA Liaison
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research for this report was performed by the KFH Group, Inc., in association with Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). Elizabeth “Buffy” Ellis was the principal investigator and a primary author of the guide, and Will Rodman was the deputy principal investigator and also a key author. Sarah Lasky managed administration and reporting of the project’s survey. Ridhima Mehrotra provided graphic support. Todd Hansen developed the data tool in Chapter 6.
The authors acknowledge and give many thanks to the public transit agencies that responded to the survey and in particular to the five transit agencies that shared their experiences and lessons learned as case studies.
FOREWORD
By Mariela Garcia-Colberg
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
TCRP Research Report 239: Provision of Alternative Services by Transit Agencies: The Intersection of Regulation and Program describes how taxis, ridesourcing services, and other nondedicated service providers are being used by transit agencies to provide alternative services for individuals with disabilities. The guide and estimation tool will give transit agencies implementation strategies and will be of immediate use to agencies as they deploy or refine their alternative service programs.
Successful alternative services that provide on-demand service have long been favored by many individuals with disabilities. Transit agencies have instituted such services in part because of the opportunities to reduce overall paratransit costs. If the savings from individuals with disabilities using a lower-subsidy alternative service for trip(s) instead of the ADA paratransit service are greater than the additional subsidies the transit agency pays for new travel demand on the alternative service(s), then the transit agency can reduce costs. However, this was a challenge to prove as there was not much data about how transit agencies were calculating the savings.
The goal of this research was to understand how transit agencies use taxis, ridesourcing services, and other nondedicated service providers to provide alternative services to individuals with disabilities. The research had six key objectives: (1) to analyze the interpretation and application of pertinent federal regulations, statutes, and guidelines; (2) to review the mobility benefits and challenges of alternative services for the riders; (3) to examine the impacts these services have on customer travel patterns; (4) to understand the costs of both on-demand and traditional paratransit services to the transit agencies and the riders; (5) to report on what data transit agencies collect from providers and the uses for these data; and (6) to document best-practice design models for alternative services that have resulted in transit agencies achieving their goals, namely service equivalency and cost reduction, while increasing mobility.
Under TCRP Project B-48, the research team conducted research activities to produce a guide and Excel tool. The guide is organized into three parts: Part 1 discusses planning, implementing, and evaluating an alternative service; Part 2 documents and synthesizes the findings of the research project; and Part 3 contains the appendices with the full case studies conducted for the project, sample materials for planning and deploying an alternative service, and the full survey results.
Appendix B, the Excel estimation tool, a workshop curriculum, and the Implementation of Research Findings and Products can be found on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for TCRP Research Report 239: Provision of Alternative Services by Transit Agencies: The Intersection of Regulation and Program.
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CONTENTS
PART I Alternative Service Guide
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Guide
What Is an Alternative Service?
Background to the Research Project
Products of the Research Project
Chapter 2 The Alternative Service Primer
Why Do Transit Agencies Implement Alternative Services?
An Alternative Service’s Basic Characteristic: It’s a Subsidy Program
How Are Trips Requested and Dispatched?
How Is the Service Delivery Structure Designed?
How Is the Impact on Overall Cost Calculated?
Chapter 3 Planning and Designing an Alternative Service
User Information and Marketing Materials
Chapter 5 Monitoring and Evaluation
Should There Be Adjustments or Revisions?
Chapter 7 Case Study Summaries
Chapter 8 Regulatory Framework
Federal Laws, Regulations, and Guidance
Chapter 9 Summary of Survey and Profiles of Alternative Services
Transit Agencies’ Alternative Service Profiles
Chapter 10 Designing and Implementing Alternative Transportation Services
Common Service Models for Alternative Services
Chapter 11 Key Findings and Lessons Learned
Key Findings of the Research Project
Lessons Learned: Effective Practices and Strategies