Improving public transportation systems management

The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy of alternative service design approaches and organizational arrangements for market-oriented, public transportation system management planning. The analysis addressed six issues which effect market-oriented, public transportation systems management and the development of market-oriented public transportation service designs:

1. The federal context within which public transportation system management elements are to be developed.

2. The stages involved in a market-oriented planning process.

3. The technical changes in the service design procedure which are required by a market-oriented planning process.

4. Key legal issues which effect both the planning process and the types of plans which must be developed.

5. Political involvement and related issues which should be addressed in development of an organizational arrangement for short-range transportation planning that will be relevant within the decision-making environment of a specific local area.

6. Alternative organizational arrangements which currently exist or are proposed for coordination of short-range transportation planning activities within a local area.

The major findings of the research were:

1. Current federal regulations for transportation system management tend to be product oriented.

2. The market-oriented planning process should discourage the early elimination of service alternatives by initially focusing on local goals and needs (market segments), thus allowing local needs to determine service alternatives instead of service alternatives limiting the analysis of local needs.

3. The way in which a transportation vehicle is used (routing, scheduling, stop location) and the type of right-of-way used is as important as the type of vehicle in determining the desirability of the service to potential customers/market segments.

4. There are many legal, regulatory, and institutional issues which could be obstacles to the development of new public transportation services and should be dealt with.

5. Planning and implementation must be integrated into the same decision-making process if short-range planning is to be relevant and effective.

6. The organizational framework for short-range public transportation planning must suit the local area if it is to be effective.

7. The short-range transportation planner must assume a political role in order to be effective.

8. A variety of personnel skills and abilities are required to perform market-oriented short-range public transportation planning.

Four organizational frameworks for transportation system management were recommended and personnel requirements were described.