Posts categorized under "Research"
Preliminary Results from Mobile Electronic Device Surveys Posted
SURTC has conducted two rounds of onboard surveys using mobile electronic devices. Droid smartphones and a Samsung Galaxy tablet were used to conduct the surveys. The first round of surveys occurred last winter on routes heavily used by North Dakota State University students. The second round of surveys were conducted on a number of different routes throughout the metro area last spring. These surveys were conducted in conjunction with a rider survey developed by the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments for its transit development plan. Preliminary results from these surveys, including a discussion of experiences with these devices, can be found in the following PDF documents:
Webcast Recording for Fargo-Moorhead Transit Development Plan Public Input Meeting Posted
SURTC conducted a webcast Sept. 21 during a public input meeting hosted by the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments (MetroCOG). The intent of the meeting was to inform the public and solicit comments regarding the Transit Development Plan. SURTC is investigating the use of tools such as webcasts for increasing public participation in transit planning. In this webcast, SURTC researcher Jeremy Mattson interviewed the consultant regarding the transit plan and recommendations they have developed for improving MATBUS service in Fargo-Moorhead. A recording of the webcast is available at the following link:
SURTC to Conduct Webcast of Public Input Meeting
As part of the Transit, Technology, & Public Participation Project, SURTC will test the use of webcasting technology for increasing public participation in transit planning. The Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments (FM MetroCOG) will be hosting a public input meeting all day (8 am to 8 pm) on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at the Ground Transportation Center in Fargo, ND. The purpose of the meeting is to seek public input regarding the 5-year transit development plan for Fargo-Moorhead. The webcast is intended as a tool for individuals who otherwise would not have attended the meeting in person the opportunity to learn about the transit plans being considered and provide input. SURTC is studying the use of tools such as webcasts for increasing public participation in the planning process.
The webcast will take place Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 3:00 pm (Central Time). It will be approximately 30 minutes long and can be viewed at the following link:
Following its completion, a recording of the webcast will be posted that can be viewed at any time.
SURTC Participates in Conference on Mobility of Older Adults
Researchers Jeremy Mattson and Del Peterson participated in a conference last week on Emerging Issues in Safe and Sustainable Mobility for Older Persons. The conference, which highlighted the latest research regarding safe mobility for older persons, was hosted by the Transportation Research Board and the Committee of the Safe Mobility for Older Persons in Washington, DC. Mattson presented the results from a study analyzing the impacts of travel distance and access to transportation on use of health care services in small urban and rural areas. Peterson participated in a poster session, presenting the results from his Ride or Relocate study that examined costs of aging in place and using transit versus relocating to an assisted living facility. The following are links to these presentations and the studies they were derived from. Also provided is a link to a webinar in which Peterson presented the results from his study.
- Presentation: Transportation and Health Care Use for Older Adults in Rural and Small Urban Areas
- Poster: Ride or Relocate? Transportation and Housing Options for Senior Adults
- Report: Transportation, Distance, and Health Care Utilization for Older Adults in Rural and Small Urban Areas
- Report: Ride or Relocate
Rural Transit Fact Book Published
SURTC has published its first annual Rural Transit Fact Book. This publication is intended to serve as a national resource for statistics and information on rural transit in America. Information on transit service availability and cost is necessary to efficiently and effectively meet rural community mobility needs. Financial and operating statistics can be used by agency managers, local decision makers, state directors, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and lawmakers to assist in policy making, planning, managing operations, and evaluating performance.
Despite the widespread benefits, no regularly-published national rural transit information resource has been previously made available. The Rural Transit Fact Book is being initiated to provide information to assist the transit industry in the United States provide efficient and effective service to rural communities. It 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 uses 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 from the SURTC website. For more information, contact Jeremy Mattson (jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu).
SURTC Research Digest Published
The first annual SURTC Research Digest has been published and is available online. The SURTC Research Digest provides a number of articles discussing recently completed research projects. The articles are highly condensed, non-technical versions of the full studies, but they provide more depth and detail than what is published in our newsletter. This edition of the SURTC Research Digest includes articles on seven research projects completed in 2010. Topics range from the mobility concerns of the elderly and people with disabilities to the impact of fuel prices on individuals' travel choices. Additional topics include technology adoption by rural transit agencies, perceptions of higher education students in regard to employment in the public transportation industry, the role that public transportation plays in health care, and efforts to coordinate rural transit services. The intent of this publication is to make our research findings accessible to a wider audience. The publication can be downloaded from the SURTC website at the following link: 2011 SURTC Research Digest (pdf).
Study on Market Segmentation of Rural Intercity Travelers
A new SURTC report titled "Travel Behavior of the Lone Rangers: An Application of Attitudinal Structural Equation Modeling to Intercity Transportation Market Segmentation" by David Ripplinger, Jeremy Mattson, and Del Peterson is available online.
Knowledge of intercity travel behavior is valuable to transportation policy makers and industry leaders facing long-term strategic decisions. The attitudes of intercity travelers can be used to estimate changes in mode shares. They can also be used to develop marketing strategies to increase the market share of non-automobile intercity travel modes by tailoring or expanding existing service as well as to identify market segments that might be attracted to alternative modes with effective promotion and education.
In this study, attitudes toward travel time, flexibility, and privacy were found to have the strongest influence on intercity travel behavior and mode choice. The study identified eight market segments based on attitudes toward these three characteristics, and mode shares for automobile, air, intercity bus, intercity rail, and van service were estimated for each market segment for regional trips by residents in the Upper Midwest.
The analysis found that a decrease in travel time for intercity bus or rail service would result in these modes capturing a much larger market share. Results also showed that those market segments with higher percentages of seniors were most likely to travel by bus, train, or van for intercity trips, and they were less likely to travel by air for the longer trips. The size of these market segments will continue to grow as the population ages.
For more information, contact Jeremy Mattson (jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu).
University of North Dakota Campus Shuttle Study
The University of North Dakota (UND) contracted with SURTC to complete a campus shuttle service and ridership study. The intention of the study was to provide UND leadership with a deeper understanding of students’ attitudes toward, perceptions of, and satisfaction with provided shuttle services. They also desired to identify shuttle service design alternatives that would improve both customer satisfaction and service efficiency and effectiveness.
When asked about specific factors that influenced student mode choice, student survey respondents indicated that convenience was the major factor considered followed by weather, time, accessibility, and parking availability. Student respondents indicated that the key benefit of the current campus shuttle system was also convenience. This benefit was followed by reduced parking demand, money savings, and reduced traffic congestion.
The cost effectiveness of the entire campus shuttle system was also measured. Overall, the operating cost per passenger trip increased from $0.90 in 2006 to $1.18 in 2010, a 31% increase. The completed study can be found here.
SURTC Report on Transportation and Access to Health Care Released
A new SURTC report titled "Transportation, Distance, and Health Care Utilization for Older Adults in Rural and Small Urban Areas" by Jeremy Mattson is now available online.
In this study, Mattson estimated the impacts of transportation and geography on use of health care services by adults aged 60 or older in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. There is evidence that health care usage is lower in rural areas, and this research studied whether long travel distances to health care facilities play a role and whether ability to drive, access to public transportation, or having others in the household who can drive have any influence on the number of health care trips taken. Other objectives were to find how many missed trips there are due to lack of transportation and estimate the characteristics of those people who miss trips, to determine how much older adults rely on public transportation for medical trips, to discover the concerns older adults have with using public transportation for medical trips, and to estimate the demand for using public transportation for medical trips among those who do not currently have access to transit.
The study received survey results from 543 individuals 60 years of age or older living in these four, largely rural, Upper Great Plains states. An analysis of the data found that those who needed care were generally able to access it. However, those who cannot drive were found to make more trips if someone else in the household can drive, and individuals traveling longer distances or those with fewer transportation options were more likely to report difficulties in making trips or to delay a trip. If someone delays a trip, he or she may not get the care at the time it is most needed.
By providing transportation to health care services, especially preventive care, people can manage their conditions better, their health status may improve, and in the long-run there could be a decrease in health care costs. The greatest problems reported for using public transportation were inconvenient schedules and infrequent service.
For more information, email Jeremy Mattson (jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu).
SURTC Surveys Small Urban Transit Systems on Recent Changes in Service Levels, Fares, and Funding
SURTC recently conducted a survey of transit agencies serving small urbanized areas (with a population of 50,000 to 200,000). The survey collected information from across the country regarding recent changes in service levels, fares, operational funding, and ridership. Similar to a recent survey by the American Public Transportation Association, the survey asked transit agencies to report any action they had taken since January 1, 2009, or actions they were considering for the future. The survey also inquired about the motivation behind service and fare changes, thoughts about the rationale for transit subsidies, and the role that factors such as congestion, safety, and environmental issues play in marketing transit services and obtaining funding. Responses were received from 141 transit agencies.
The major findings from the survey are:
- Forty-seven percent of transit agencies surveyed have either increased fares or reduced service, and 14% have done both.
- Two-thirds of transit agencies responding to this survey said that demand for transit service in their community is increasing; 28% answered that demand is staying about the same, while just 4% said that demand is decreasing.
- Of those who said that demand is increasing, most (94%) said their agency is facing limitations in its ability to add service to meet this demand.
- Thirty-six percent of agencies reported decreased operational funding from local or regional sources over the last year, while 34% said the same about state funding. Federal funding levels were mostly unchanged.
- On average, these agencies reported increased ridership since 2008, though there is significant variation in response, including 30% that said ridership has decreased. Meanwhile, a quarter reported that ridership is up more than 10%.
For more information about the survey and all the survey results, see the following report:
Changes in Service Levels, Fares, and Funding for Small Urban Transit Agencies: Survey Results