Posts categorized under "Publications"
Research Report – The Impact of Oil Boom and Bust Cycles on Western North Dakota
A new study published by SURTC examines the impacts of the boom and bust cycles on transit ridership and community livability in western North Dakota by calculating transit livability index measures. These measures were calculated based on six core livability principles. A major finding of this research shows that although the recent oil bust has caused considerable concern in western North Dakota, the population and transit ridership are considerably larger today than they were in 2008. The study also develops a system dynamics model to show the potential impacts from increasing transit’s mode share.
The full report and executive summary can be found at the link below:
The Impact of Oil Boom and Bust Cycles on Western North Dakota
For more details, contact Del Peterson at Del.Peterson@ndsu.edu.
2017 Rural Transit Fact Book Published
SURTC has published its 2017 edition of the Rural Transit Fact Book. This publication is intended to serve as a national resource for statistics and information on rural transit in America. The Fact Book includes rural demographic and travel behavior data as well as financial, operating, and fleet statistics and performance measures for agencies receiving section 5311 funding. In addition to national level data, statistics are presented by state, FTA region, tribe, and mode, as well as other agency characteristics.
The 2017 edition is an expanded version that includes a section on county-level demographic information, presenting county-level population data for older adults, people with disabilities, and those living below the poverty line. This edition also provides more detailed information on the geographic coverage of rural transit services across the country.
The Rural Transit Fact Book presents agency level data from the Rural National Transit Database (NTD) and rural demographic and travel data from the American Community Survey and the National Household Travel Survey.
The publication can be downloaded at the SURTC website. For more information, or if you're interested in receiving a hard copy, contact Jeremy Mattson (jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu).
Research Report – Aging in Place in Small Urban and Rural Communities
A new study published by SURTC investigated the current state of aging in place in small urban and rural settings throughout the country and quantified the costs for residents to live at home and ride public transportation versus moving to an assisted living facility. Overall, simulation results showed that the cost of assisted living was almost always higher compared to other alternatives. Homeowners without mortgages had the lowest costs followed by apartment dwellers and homeowners with mortgages. Policy makers should consider the potential cost savings from aging in place found in this study. Seniors and their families can potentially save thousands of dollars annually by remaining at home and utilizing home health and public transportation services.
The full report and executive summary can be found at the link below:
Aging in Place in Small Urban and Rural Communities
For more details, contact Del Peterson at Del.Peterson@ndsu.edu.
Research Report – Estimating Demand for Intercity Bus Services in a Rural Environment
A new report that developed a method for estimating demand for intercity bus services in rural areas has been posted to the SURTC website. The general objective of this research was to develop an intercity mode choice model that can be incorporated into a statewide travel demand model to estimate demand for rural intercity bus services. Data for the study were collected through a survey of North Dakota residents. Gender, age, income, disability, trip purpose, party size, travel time, travel cost, and access distance were all found to have significant impacts on mode choice, and traveler attitudes were also found to be important. The study demonstrated how the mode choice model can be incorporated into a statewide travel demand model, and intercity bus mode shares were estimated for origin-destination pairs within the state. Alternative scenarios were analyzed to show how mode shares would change under different conditions or service characteristics. This study was conducted in the largely rural state of North Dakota, but results could be transferable to other areas with similar geographic characteristics.
The link below provides access to the full report and executive summary, as well as a summary of the survey results:
Innovative Approach to Estimating Demand for Intercity Bus Services in a Rural Environment
For more information, contact Jeremy Mattson at jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu.
Research Report – Evaluation Study of the Bike Share Program in Fargo, North Dakota
SURTC has published a new report that studied the bike share program in Fargo, North Dakota. Great Rides Bike Share launched in 2015 in Fargo with 11 stations and 101 bikes. This study evaluated the impacts of the program through a series of surveys and statistical analyses. Objectives were to understand user opinions, analyze demand, study impacts on student travel behavior, and analyze livability benefits. Analyses were conducted to estimate the impacts of weather and other factors on bike share use and to estimate the impacts of bike share use on bus ridership.
The full report and executive summary can be found at the link below:
Evaluation Study of the Bike Share Program in Fargo, North Dakota
For more details, contact Ranjit Godavarthy at ranjit.godavarthy@ndsu.edu.
Research Report – Exploring Transit's Contribution to Livability in Rural Communities: Case Study of Valley City, ND, and Dickinson, ND
A new study published by SURTC investigates the nexus of transit and rural livability by conducting case studies in the North Dakota communities of Valley City and Dickinson. While many factors influence the livability of a rural community, transit is an important contributor. For each of the two North Dakota communities considered, resident surveys, local transit rider surveys, and stakeholder interviews were conducted to understand differing opinions on livability and how transit contributes to livability.
In both Valley City and Dickinson, surveys of residents showed they believe affordable housing, low crime, quality healthcare, overall cost of living, quality public schools, and available jobs are the most important factors contributing the livability of a community. While transit was not among the top factors, survey respondents expressed considerable support for providing transit services and funding it through various sources. Residents in both cities expressed the opinion that transit should be provided in their community as a transportation option for seniors, people with disabilities, those who choose not to drive, and those who cannot afford to drive. Transit riders in both cities indicated that transit is very important to their quality of life, and stakeholders from both communities said transit is a critical lifeline for people who are elderly and/or have a disability, individuals with no vehicle, and those who cannot drive.
The full report and executive summary can be found at the link below:
For more details, contact Ranjit Godavarthy at ranjit.godavarthy@ndsu.edu.
Research Report – Characterization of Transit Ride Quality
A recent SURTC study evaluates the significance of transit ride quality. This study developed a low-cost smartphone-based method and associated data transformations to characterize ride quality. The method distinguished between vibrations induced from road unevenness and operator behavior. The authors validated the accuracy of the method by conducting surveys to characterize the perceived roughness intensities from buses traveling routes of distinctly different roughness levels. The surveys found that smooth rides mattered to most passengers, and that rough rides could even lead to some loss of ridership. Click on the link below to see the full report:
Characterization of Transit Ride Quality
For more information, contact Raj Bridgelall at raj.bridgellal@ndsu.edu.
2016 Rural Transit Fact Book Published
SURTC has published its 2016 edition of the Rural Transit Fact Book. This publication is intended to serve as a national resource for statistics and information on rural transit in America. The Fact Book includes rural demographic and travel behavior data as well as financial, operating, and fleet statistics and performance measures for agencies receiving section 5311 funding. In addition to national level data, statistics are presented by state, FTA region, tribe, and mode, as well as other agency characteristics.
The Rural Transit Fact Book presents agency level data from the Rural National Transit Database (NTD) and rural demographic and travel data from the American Community Survey and the National Household Travel Survey.
The publication can be downloaded at the SURTC website. For more information, or if you're interested in receiving a hard copy, contact Jeremy Mattson (jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu).
Workforce Development Summit Proceedings Published
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has published a proceedings report that documents the presentations and discussions from the Workforce Development Summit: Implementing, Disseminating, and Modeling Ladders of Opportunity. This one-day event was hosted by the FTA and the National Transit Institute (NTI) on June 7, 2016. Working with NTI, SURTC staff participated in the event and produced the proceedings document.
Recipients of the FTA's Innovative Public Transportation Workforce Development grants and FTA partners gathered for the event to share information, network, and learn from each other as they addressed the workforce development challenges facing the industry. The summit featured presentations from FTA grantees, individuals from FTA, and FTA partners. Discussions focused on the workforce challenges facing the industry, innovative projects conducted by grant recipients, collaboration opportunities and the importance of partnerships, funding opportunities, and performance measurement. Links to the proceedings document and the report summary can be found below.
Workforce Development Proceedings: FTA Report No. 0096
Report Summary for the Workforce Development Summit Proceedings
Research Report – Estimating Ridership of Rural Demand-Response Transit Services for the General Public
A new SURTC study developed two new models for estimating demand for rural demand-response transit services for the general public. Lack of data for demand-response service characteristics and geographic coverage has previously limited the development of such models. The first model developed in this study used data from the 2013 rural National Transit Database, and the second used more detailed service data collected from surveys of transit agencies. Ridership was found to significantly increase when the percentage of the population comprised of older adults or people without access to a vehicle increased. The second model analyzed the impacts of service span and reservation requirements on ridership. Results showed that providing more days of service had an expected positive impact on ridership, while allowing users to reserve rides on shorter notice also had a significant positive effect. Click on the link below to see the full report or a summary of the study:
Estimating Ridership of Rural Demand-Response Transit Services for the General Public
For more information, contact Jeremy Mattson at jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu.