CHAPTER 6
Conclusions and Suggested Research
This chapter presents conclusions on the research team’s progress in constructing the framework on which a future ICBA can be built and to suggest other research that could help to further develop knowledge of the intercity bus network.
Conclusions
Considering all elements of the work conducted since 2021, this project has achieved its stated purpose to create a framework for implementation of the atlas, but much work remains to be done to create a resource that can be classified as comprehensive.
An issue faced by the research team was the level of participation from intercity bus carriers. While responses to the idea of the project and to discussions in forums like conferences were positive, many carriers that were contacted as part of the outreach and engagement process were unresponsive or hesitant to share data. The reasons behind this are unknown and likely vary between carriers. With full cooperation obtained from 49 carriers (with others represented in part under Amtrak Thruway and others) out of more than 200 intercity carriers and transit agencies with intercity services identified by the research team, there remains opportunity to enhance the coverage of the ICBA.
The current map represents an improvement upon prior understanding of the country’s intercity bus network. Since the cessation of publication of the Russell’s Guides, no centralized “source of truth” has existed regarding intercity bus services. While a directory of carriers was formerly maintained by the AIBRA, this did not include any details regarding the routes and stops maintained by them. The atlas map is useful in its general purpose: creating a general idea of the shape and magnitude of the intercity bus network. One can see that intercity bus serves as a crucial transportation link for parts of the country both well-served and neglected by other modes. Intercity bus links some of the Northeast’s largest cities, towns big and small across the Midwest and South, and isolated communities speckled across the Mountain West and Great Plains, and its role in moving people across the country will become more visible as greater involvement from the industry is achieved.
In addition to adding new carriers, the existing atlas map can be expanded to present additional utility to planners and policymakers by using information already present in the GTFS files used to create the atlas. The addition of information about service spans, frequencies and headways, and days service is available could expand the variety of analyses able to be performed and the depth of those already possible with existing data, especially when used in combination with local transit GTFS. In addition, adding census data layers to the existing map could aid in better pinpointing service gaps that need to be filled.
Finally, a major component of this project has been the creation of resources to guide the expansion of the atlas, in size and in adoption as a resource, namely the following:
- A user guide to the ICBA and GTFS development for the intercity bus industry
- A user guide for state, local, tribal, and territorial entities on how to leverage the ICBA and GTFS more broadly in their work
- A guide to advancement and maintenance of the ICBA
With GTFS training and reference materials in various formats created—both technology-neutral and specific to the TRANSIT-data-tools platform used as part of this project—the research team endeavored to decrease the burden of GTFS development for carriers that have not already compiled this data in the pursuit of expanded participation. In combination with the guide created to aid entities in using the ICBA in planning analyses and the guide for maintenance, the research team hopes that the atlas can be effectively and efficiently maintained and advanced.
Suggested Research
With all this in mind, attention can be turned to additional research that could be performed to improve our understanding of the intercity bus network and build on the successes of the ICBA.
Potential exists for future research that could help to further fill in the map. A general effort could be undertaken to try to solicit increased participation, with research focusing on understanding the reasons behind and effects of the hesitancy or unwillingness of carriers to share data. With a better understanding of why carriers do not want to share data, with the ICBA and more generally, the inheritors of the atlas may be able to refocus privacy policies and refine pitches to aid in increased cooperation, and policymakers can gain context that may inform future policies surrounding regular reporting to the U.S. DOT (like exist with FTA annual reporting).
Other research could endeavor to improve our understanding of services related to specific challenges faced. This might include efforts to expand the use of GTFS across various segments of the intercity bus industry and encourage the addition thereof to the ICBA or could include other efforts to better understand these services regardless of their inclusion. Among these segments, which were not included in the current iteration of the ICBA, are carriers serving certain demographic groups as well as cross-border carriers, and long-distance services in U.S. territories and noncontiguous states.
Many other topics of research could be explored to further improve our understanding of intercity buses’ role in the provision of transportation in the United States and across North America. One idea, inspired by discussions conducted by the research team and research panel in relation to the creation of the User Guide for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Entities, could include deeper study of drives to colocate intercity bus services at transit hubs, especially relevant as many former bus terminals are shut down or repurposed as in Philadelphia and Richmond, among others. Another idea raised was to perform a temporal analysis to investigate the impacts of atrophy of service and additions of new services.
Finally, as discussed in previous sections, the GTFS is certainly tailored to local transit services and less well-suited to the peculiarities of intercity bus operations. Research would be helpful about possible extensions or changes to the existing specification to better suit intercity buses, including changes to how fares are represented (or if they should be in the ICBA context); increased flexibility regarding overnight and multiday trips; and elaborating on existing best practices to suggest using easily recognizable identifiers for routes, stops, and trips where available.