Posts tagged as "rural"
Research Report – Travel Behavior and Mobility of Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations: Evidence from the National Household Travel Survey
A new report published by SURTC examines travel behavior and mobility of older adults, people with disabilities, individuals from low-income households, and rural residents by analyzing data from the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). NHTS is a nation-wide survey last conducted in 2009.
The study, conducted by researcher Jeremy Mattson, highlights data on driving, trip frequency, staying in the same place all day or week, miles driven per year, mode choice, use of public transportation, trip purpose, trip distance, and issues and concerns regarding transportation. Changes over the last decade were also examined to identify trends in travel behavior.
Findings show how use of transit increases the number of trips taken and provides rides to individuals who would otherwise not make the trip. The study also shows the differences in mobility between different population groups. Half of those 85 or older were found to have a disability or medical condition affecting their ability to travel, and for many of them, it results in reduced day-to-day travel. A strong desire to get out more often was found by those not making a trip within the last week, which shows the importance of mobility on quality of life. People with disabilities or medical conditions were shown to make significantly fewer trips than others, while expressing a desire to get out more often.
Trends from 2001 to 2009 show increased use of transit. Older women are driving more and making more trips than they were a decade ago, slowly closing the gap between older men and women. These trends may continue as the active baby boom generation retires and expects to maintain their mobility.
For more information about the study, contact Jeremy Mattson at jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu. The full report can be downloaded at the following link: Travel Behavior and Mobility of Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations: Evidence from the National Household Travel Survey.
Mattson had previously presented findings from this study at the International Conference on Aging, Mobility and Quality of Life. That presentation is also available on the SURTC website.
Categories: Publications, Research
Journal of Public Transportation Special Edition: Rural and Intercity Bus
SURTC director Jill Hough was guest editor of the latest issue of the Journal of Public Transportation – a special edition focusing on rural and intercity bus. The Journal of Public Transportation is published by the National Center for Transit Research at the University of South Florida. This issue commemorated the 20th National Conference for Rural Public & Intercity Bus Transportation. It also celebrated the partnership between the University of South Florida and North Dakota State University as one of the University Transportation Centers focusing on public transportation in the United States. Included in this edition is an article by SURTC researcher Jeremy Mattson on the use of alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles by small urban and rural transit systems. The articles in this special edition can be viewed at the following link: Journal of Public Transportation – Vol. 15, No. 3 (2012)
Report Published: Organizing Transit in Small Urban and Rural Communities
A new SURTC study conducted by David Ripplinger provides information and a decision-making framework for designing and administering rural transit policies given limited public resources. Using data from transit agencies in rural North Dakota, Ripplinger estimated the benefits of different service alternatives, evaluated the justification of government subsidy of rural transit on the basis of its cost structure, and investigated the most efficient regional organization of transit.
The study investigated whether it would be more cost efficient for a single existing agency to expand service and provide both fixed-route and demand-response service or if it would be more efficient to have multiple operators in an area providing service. If service is to be increased within the service area of an existing transit agency, the study found it is more efficient for the existing agency to provide that service than to create a new agency to do so. If new service is to be added outside the service area of an existing agency, the more efficient option is influenced by the size of the existing agency. It was found to be more efficient for small transit operators to increase service into a new area than for a second agency to do so, but for larger regional systems, the study found it may be more efficient for a second agency to provide the new service. The study also found it is more efficient for small transit systems to provide both fixed-route and demand-response service than to have two different agencies specializing in each. However, for larger regional systems, the results differ, and it may be more efficient to have providers specialize in one mode. In many cases, a single transit agency operating as a monopoly was found to provide service at a lower cost than two transit agencies would, but this was not always the case.
The findings and implications are directly applicable to rural transit in North Dakota and should be helpful in informing future federal policy as well as rural transit policy, service design, and operation in other states.
The publication can be downloaded at the following link: Organizing Transit in Small Urban and Rural Communities. The study was sponsored by the University Transportation Centers Program of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Questions related to the research should be directed to David Ripplinger, who can be reached at david.ripplinger@ndsu.edu
2012 Rural Transit Fact Book Published
SURTC has published its 2012 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.
This publication is an update to the Fact Book published in 2011. 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).
Call for Papers: Special Rural and Intercity Bus Edition of the Journal of Public Transportation
Papers offering contributions in the area of rural and intercity bus are being solicited for submission for a special issue of the Journal of Public Transportation, with support from the USF Center for Urban Transportation and NDSU Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute’s (UGPTI) Small Urban and Rural Transit Center (SURTC). This special edition of JPT will be made available at the 20th National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 14-17, 2012.
The deadline for submission is April 27, 2012. See the Call for Papers for more details.
Dr. Hough Quoted in NPR Story on Gas Prices and Rural Transit
SURTC Director Dr. Jill Hough was quoted in this story from National Public Radio on the impact of higher gas prices on rural transit: Gas Prices Force More People To Take Rural Transit.
Presentation Recordings Posted Online
Presentation recordings for three recent SURTC research projects are available online. The recordings summarize the research methods and major findings from each of the studies. These presentations were also given recently at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. Click on the links below to view the recordings.
- Marginal Cost Pricing and Subsidy of Transit in Small Urban Areas
- Travel Behavior of the Lone Rangers: An Application of Attitudinal Structural Equation Modeling to Intercity Transportation Market Segmentation
- Transportation, Distance, and Health Care Utilization for Older Adults in Rural and Small Urban Areas
Categories: Research
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).
Presentations from Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Available Online
The Transportation Research Board has released a Final Program for the 19th National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation, held October 24-27, 2010, in Burlington, Vermont. Most of the presentations from this conference are now available online and are linked to within this document. Click here to open the Final Program (pdf), and then click on the presenters names highlighted in blue to view the presentations.
SURTC was heavily involved in this conference. Director Jill Hough served as the Chair of the Conference Planning Committee, and researchers David Ripplinger, Del Peterson, and Jeremy Mattson gave presentations and moderated sessions. The following are links to the presentations (pdf documents) given by SURTC staff:
- Ride or Relocate, presented by Del Peterson
- Mobility of Older Adults and People with Disabilities in North Dakota, presented by Jeremy Mattson
- How Rural Areas are Using Technology, presented by David Ripplinger
- Practical Uses of Rural NTD Data, presented by David Ripplinger
Categories: Events, Research
Rural Transit Systems Honored
Six rural transit systems were honored last week by receiving this year's Outstanding Rural Transit System award. The awards were presented by FTA Deputy Administrator Therese McMillan at last week's National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation in Burlington, Vermont. SURTC director Jill Hough presided over the ceremony. The awards were given to the following transit providers:
- Special Transit of Boulder, CO
- Rural Community Transportation of St. Johnsbury, VT
- Citylink Public Transit System of Worley, ID
- Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency of Cookeville, TN
- Flint Hills Transportation Agency of Manhattan, KS
- South Central Adult Services Council of Valley City, ND
Pat Hansen of South Central Adult Services in Valley City, ND receiving an award for Outstanding Rural Transit System from FTA Deputy Administrator Therese McMillan and SURTC director and conference chair Jill Hough.
The awards were given to rural systems that have addressed and overcome major challenges in providing coordinated transportation services resulting in rural and urban synergies. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation congratulated the winners and discussed the important role rural transit operators provide in this blog, the FAST LANE.