CHAPTER 5
Findings and Applications: User Guidance
Since its inception, the ICBA has been envisioned as a tool that a variety of stakeholders—planners, policymakers, academics, intercity bus industry representatives, and others—could use to better understand the country’s intercity bus network and apply that insight to ensure proper representation of the mode in transportation decisions. With the current version produced, this project can already present utility to these stakeholders. This chapter aims to discuss how the data in the map can be used, as well as offer recommendations for future improvement of the ICBA. More detailed discussion of how data from the ICBA can be used can also be found in the User Guide for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Entities, which was produced as part of this project.
Using the ICBA Data
Even though the atlas’ current map is limited in coverage and has many carriers yet to participate in the ICBA project, its current state represents an improvement on previously existing understandings of the intercity bus network—this is the first centralized source of information about intercity bus service in the United States since deregulation and the end of publication of the Russell’s Guides. With the caveat that stakeholders and users should be aware of the limits of the current iteration’s breadth and should consider specific missing carriers in studies of specific regions, the atlas can still be used for its primary purpose: high-level and low-granularity investigations of where service does and does not exist and visual representation of the magnitude of U.S. intercity bus services.
In addition to the limitations placed on the ICBA by the level of participation from some segments of the industry, the narrow span of information included in the current iteration of the map may limit its utility. The following attributes are included for routes:
- The carrier or agency providing service, based on agency.txt
- Route description, if included
- Route full name and short name
- Route type
- URL to a route web page, if one is available
The following attributes are included for stops:
- Agency name
- AIANNH (American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian) area
- Place name
- County
- State name and abbreviation
- Country
- Stop name
- Location type
- Stop time zone
- Stop URL
- Urban area name
- Urban and rural area classification
- Wheelchair accessibility
With these attributes, analyses can be performed in addition to the atlas’s primary purpose of mapping intercity bus coverage. The following sections discuss each of these, as well as additional sources of information that can be used to expand the possible uses of the ICBA. More detailed discussion of how data from the ICBA can be used can be found in the User Guide for State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Entities produced as part of this project.
Service Analysis
If stop information is accurately provided, the data currently in the atlas can be used to perform basic analyses of service supply and the availability of transfers. At the most basic level, the level of service available to a given community or along a specific corridor can be estimated based on the provided routes and stops, predicated, for example, on the number of routes or carriers traveling to a specific stop. Limited analysis of transfer availability can also be performed. By looking at which routes or carriers serve a specific stop or multiple nearby stops, a rough idea of what services riders can transfer between can be formed. However, the utility of this is limited without information regarding stop times and service spans.
Market Analysis
Market analysis of the intercity bus network—investigating where unfulfilled or overserved markets, for example, exist—is perhaps the class of analysis that best aligns with the primary purpose of the ICBA. At the most basic level, the data provided by the atlas in its current state can be used alone to identify gaps in service, including the following:
- Missing connections between major markets
- Misaligned overlap or coordination between routes to facilitate better connectivity
- Potential locations for new stops to serve new markets
- Potential corridors for new routes to serve new markets
However, the utility of ICBA data in performing this analysis can be greatly expanded when combined with other data sources, namely travel flow data and demographic data from the U.S. Census. Long-distance travel flow data obtained from statewide models or location-based service providers can be compared with existing route alignments and stop locations to better pinpoint unfulfilled demand. Where a high density of flows exists between two points and no intercity service exists or is only served by limited connections, a new service or expanded service may be warranted. This can be even more useful when projections for future years are included in models.
Demographic data, in turn, can be used to help identify the larger market for intercity bus services and to more effectively identify possible gaps. Unserved communities can be examined for signals that may indicate a propensity to use transit (e.g., a significant proportion of households without access to a vehicle among other socioeconomic factors). Communities that may have a high propensity to use transit and are a suitable distance from an urban center may then be identified as targets for service expansion. Demographic data can also be combined with travel flow data, as discussed previously, to provide maximum utility. Where travel flow data shows
unfulfilled demand, the demographics of communities identified for new or increased service can be used to aid in prioritizing connections.
Stop Analysis
Analysis of stop siting can be performed with the data available in the ICBA, with one exception: The ability to study possible transfers is limited by the present level of information about stop times, frequencies, and operating hours. However, with the current level of information, users can identify stop locations shared by multiple carriers or areas where multiple carriers stop in proximity, which may allow for transfers, and this can serve as a point from which to conduct deeper study. In addition, when paired with local transit GTFS, stakeholders can query the accessibility of stop locations by multiple modes to select more optimal locations, and stop and route data from the National Transit Map (https://www.bts.gov/national-transit-map) can be used to identify transit transfer centers that may impact terminal siting.
In addition to exploring connectivity to local transit, the data included in the atlas can be used to study the siting of intercity bus terminals as intercity operators consider relocating their urban bus stops. In many cases, an ideal location would be an intermodal facility that serves local and regional transit services alongside multiple intercity carriers. The ICBA can be used for this type of analysis in the following manner:
- Planners could download the ICBA stop data, map it alongside local transit stops and stations, and identify logical local stations where intercity operators could relocate their terminals.
- Planners could then use the route information in the atlas (particularly if it included service-level data) to determine how many intercity buses would need to use the local station and assess whether additional facilities would be necessary to accommodate them.
Following these broad steps, stakeholders could identify locations served by local transit that exist close to multiple existing intercity services, with these serving as potential sites for centralized terminals, thereby allowing for greater cost-sharing and more efficient access.
Service Visualization
Given that route shapefiles and stop points are already included in the ICBA, this data can be extracted based on several already-present attributes to aid in creating visualizations of service, for example, in a specific state or region or from a specific carrier. The creation of individual carrier maps from ICBA data has been discussed as a potential incentive for participation of carriers in the ICBA. The atlas itself also serves as a visualization of nationwide service and helps planners and the public identify where stops and routes do and do not currently exist.
Combining with Other Data Sources
As discussed in previous sections of this chapter, the utility of the data available in the ICBA can be significantly expanded when used in combination with other data. This section discusses the uses of some of the sources mentioned previously as well as several others.
The U.S. Census Bureau maintains a variety of sets of demographic information that can be useful to those using the atlas. In addition to decennial census figures, demographic data included in resources like the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates can prove useful. These sources can be used to estimate the potential market of intercity bus services through statistics like the number of households without a vehicle, which can in turn be compared to the existing network to see if demand is satisfied. Commute data from the ACS includes information about commuter use of transit, which can also be used to estimate the market for intercity buses,
as well as commuting flow data, which can be used to identify high-volume corridors in need of new or improved service.
In addition to the limited commuting flow data included in the ACS, which is aggregated by county, more granular travel flow data from a variety of sources can be a valuable tool in performing market analyses. When combined with knowledge of routes from the ICBA, this data can be used to identify un- and underserved connections that may warrant expanded service. This data is often available through local metropolitan planning organizations and state DOTs, as well as through the Census Transportation Planning Package and from private entities.
Finally, safety data can also be useful in planning surrounding intercity bus services. Geospatial data marking and aggregating crash locations, available from state DOTs or departments of motor vehicles and from local sources, can be used to identify high-frequency crash locations where intercity buses pass through or stop. This information can be leveraged to reroute buses to safer corridors or identify stop locations that may be unsuitable because of safety concerns, especially relevant where buses might pick up and drop off passengers at locations on the curb.
With the inclusion of routes in Canada and Mexico considered for the future, the research team considered data sources from these countries as well. Overall, the research team found that data available in these two countries was broadly like that available in the United States. Both countries have available datasets operating at similar scales and including many similar variables as the U.S. decennial census and ACS. Information available includes population density, households and their compositions, incomes, commute modes, and availability of private vehicles. Travel flow data, like in the United States, is specific to local, regional, and state or provincial planning entities and may be available from these organizations. Some private entities offering data from location-based services also provide data for Canada and Mexico.