Search

DOT-TSC-1409, This document presents a review and assessment of the Northeastern Illinois Regional Transportation Authority's (RTA) Paratransit Brokerage Demonstration Program which involved six projects implemented by local governments under RTA's decentralized brokerage program. The project focus was on an investigation of the institutional impacts of the RTA's decentralized approach to paratransit brokerage. The RTA is responsible for providing public transportation in the six-county Chicago metropolitan area. The RTA's brokerage program (Service Development/Demonstration Grant Program) was designed to achieve maximum paratransit service with a minimum amount of centralized staff. The program aims to encourage municipalities to plan, operate, implement, and monitor a variety of paratransit services, either in geographic areas or for special users (elderly and handicapped), that cannot support fixed-route, fixed-schedule service. Three projects served the elderly and handicapped, and three projects served the general purpose market. Each project was unique in program, management, and operations. The author states that although a number of problems were experienced in this demonstration, most were resolved, and the approach proved to be workable. A paratransit department was created. Paratransit in each of the local project areas continues with RTA and local funding. The program has been expanded to include 24 communities, which represent over 1,400 square miles in the region. Applications have been received from a additional 48 communities.

DOT-TSC-1334, This last volume, includes five technical appendices which document the methodologies used in the benefit-cost analysis. They are the following: Scenario analysis methodology; Impact estimation; Example of impact estimation; Sensitivity analysis; Aggregation of impacts to national levels.

DOT-TSC-1334, This is the third volume of a six-volume report documenting the results of a study entitled "Benefit-Cost Analysis of Integrated Paratransit Systems." This volume provides detailed results of a series of scenario analyses designed to determine the impacts of various integrated paratransit (IP) configurations and other, more conventional, alternatives in a variety of settings. These transportation options are analyzed for the year 1980; the IP scenarios are also analyzed for the year 2000.

DOT-TSC-1081, This document reports on a unique way of providing transportation and transportation-related services (e.g., information and scheduling) to elderly and handicapped individuals in a small geographic area. In the Mountain View Community Broker project, a community broker furnished his clients with individualized primary service information and scheduling assistance. He also drove these clients to their destinations in a 12-passenger van. The project was intended to demonstrate the economic and operational feasibility of combining these functions in one role. The report describes the community broker concept and project operations; assesses the economic feasibility of the idea; discusses the project's impact on the target group; and provides some commentary on ways a community-broker type of project could be integrated into the existing network of social services for the handicapped and elderly. /Author

DOT-TSC-1235, During the winter of 1976-77 four different techniques for automatically locating land vehicles were tested in both the low and high-rise regions in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tests were carried out by four different companies under separate contract to the Transportation Systems Center. These tests were designed to evaluate the four techniques for their applicability as location subsystems for automatic vehicle monitoring (AVM) systems. The overall objective of this AVM program is to design, implement, and operate an area-wide multi-user AVM system in Los Angeles (Phase II) for the purpose of making a quantitative evaluation of AVM effectiveness for transit, paratransit, and other AVM users. A summary report on all four systems is available and titled: Experiments on Four Different Techniques for Automatically Locating Land Vehicles (PB-270951). This document contains the results obtained by one of the contractors, Fairchild Industries, and covers the activities of Phase I which involved the instrumenting of a section of downtown Philadelphia with approximately 140 signposts. Part of the allocated section was used for tests applicable to fixed-route (transit) systems, and part was used for random-route applications (police cars, taxis, paratransit, etc.). In addition to the Philadelphia tests a series of separate engineering tests were performed at the Fairchild Plant in Germantown, Maryland. This Fairchild report states that the complete exercise served a two-fold purpose: 1) it proved the reliability of AVM systems and, 2) it performed as an invaluable learning tool from which all parties will profit.

DOT-TSC-1334, The report describes various factors which influence community acceptance of integrated paratransit (IP) systems. In order to fully explore past events in those communities which have already accepted IP, a case study approach has been used. Seven well known IP systems were selected for analysis, based on system size, extent of community acceptance, and availability of data. Given the experiences in each case study, certain generalizations have been made about factors which seem common to each site, and comparisons have been made to show the resultant influences of different policies or other factors at the local level.

DOT-TSC-1334, The study represents the first systematic attempt to estimate the potential impacts of a wide range of IP options in different settings. The output of this study should provide local decision-makers with a better understanding of the varied impacts an IP system might have. In addition, the study has attempted to identify potentially promising IP options and policies (as well as those options which show little promise), which may lead to the next round of paratransit demonstrations. Finally, the study has identified those instances where IP is, and those where it is not, the most appropriate way to improve public transportation services in a given area.

DOT-TSC-1408, Paratransit, Inc., a nonprofit corporation created in July, 1978, offers special transportation for handicapped and elderly persons in the Sacramento area. A variety of service agreements were negotiated with social service agencies for providing transportation to their clients. Paratransit also operates a vehicle maintenance center for the servicing and repair of paratransit vehicles operated by social service agencies themselves. Project operations and developments, costs, impacts and workability are discussed in the report.

DOT-TSC-1409, Interest in taxi regulatory revision stems from the taxicab's potential to complement or to be an alternative to conventional fixed-route transit. Taxi regulatory revision in Portland, Oregon, and other cities reflects the current awareness to reduce non-essential government involvement in private enterprise, to remove regulatory barriers, and to increase competition through open entry. This report is organized into 4 sections. Section 2 presents a brief overview of the taxicab legislative and administrative revisions adopted in Portland; Section 3 describes observed changes in local taxicab industry structural and service characteristics and rates; Section 4 discusses attitudes toward the new regulations and the local taxi industry as expressed by regulators and service providers; and Section 5 presents the case study conclusions and transferrable implications.

DOT-TSC-1334, A number of new technologies have been implemented with or proposed for paratransit systems. As part of the overall IP benefit cost study, the potential impact of two such technologies, digital communications and computer dispatching, have been analyzed in detail and are reported here. In addition, some preliminary analyses have been conducted on the potential impacts of computer-aided dispatching, computer control of radio channels, automated control-to-passenger communications, automated passenger information systems, automatic vehicle monitoring, and a new paratransit vehicle.

DOT-TSC-1083, The report describes the development, implementation, and current status of the Teltran system as it existed in the spring of 1976. In particular, this evaluation provides a detailed description of Teltran system configuration (and changes in that configuration by time of day and day of the week), system dispatching and operation, and the effectiveness of an incremental implementation process. In addition, the effect of Teltran on improving transit level of service and ridership is examined as well as the productivities achieved.

The integration of bicycles and transit in Santa Barbara, California, was designed as an innovative demonstration project, to increase local transit ridership. The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District (SBMTD) installed bicycle racks and lockers at selected bus stops and attached bicycle trailers to fixed-route minibuses. The demonstration services operated for 18 months and the SBMTD continued these services intact the following year. This report evaluates the Santa Barbara Demonstration Project. It examines the impacts of integrating bicycles and transit services on equipment design, selection of routes and bicycle storage sites, implementation, marketing, travel time, equipment reliability, safety and security, weekday vs weekend, seasonal, and bicycle-trailer vs. system ridership, user and trip characteristics, user attitudes, fleet characteristics, and capital and operating expenses. A final section examines the integration of bicycle and transit services in other applications.

DOT-TSC-1412, From November 1977 through June 1981, Mercer County in New Jersey, was the site of an Urban Mass Transportation Administration Service and Methods Demonstration, which coordinated human service agency transportation programs. The Mercer County Coordination/Consolidation Demonstration Project involved the consolidation of several transportation services within a specially-created division of the county government - TRADE (Transportation Resources to Aid Disadvantaged and Elderly). This evaluation report covers the period through December 1980.

DOT-TSC-1351, This report summarizes the work performed on the Low Life Cycle Cost (LLCC) paratransit vehicle contract. The program was structured to provide a design of a vehicle suitable for taxi paratransit usage and optimized for LLCC to the end user. This effort is in response to the growing recognition that purchase price or first cost of a vehicle is not a true measure of the cost of ownership. This report includes cost estimates which were prepared for the major elements of life cycle costing including manufacturing, maintenance, and repair costs. The objectives of the LLCC design study were to: (1) review the current designs; (2) identify and characterize features that impact the life cycle cost for taxi applications; (3) design a ride-sharing paratransit vehicle primarily for the taxi application; (4) consider volume production and use of readily commercial component/parts in order to reduce initial cost; and (5) consider maintainability, reliability, safety, and other important features to assure wide acceptance in paratransit and related use. It was concluded that a paratransit vehicle, with all of the special features of this design could be acquired and utilized over its extended service life at a net cost to the operator that would be less than that of a conventional taxicab.

R2718/UM202, This report presents the results of the evaluation of the MIT Urban Systems Laboratory's (USL's) Dial-A-Ride operational computer program. The evaluation was carrier out by the Transportation Systems Center (TSC) under PPA UM-02, "Transportation Systems Computer Package", FY'72. The general purpose of the evaluation was to test the Operational Dial-A-Ride (O D-A-R) DOS program against the work statement of November 24, 1970, for extension of the UMTA Grant MASS-MTD-6.

1409-18B, Starting in January, 1979, the San Diego City Council revised its paratransit regulations and began issuing 6 new taxi permits per month. As of July, 1979, the ratio of new permit issuance was increased to 15 per month. Effective August 1, 1979, the Council replaced the standard rate of fare with a maximum rate, up to which operators may charge what they choose. Other regulatory changes included abolition of the public convenience and necessity certification requirement; provision for fixed route and shared ride services; specification of an appeals process for denial, suspension or revocation of permits; and standardization of licensing fees, insurance and reporting requirements for all paratransit vehicles. This report summarizes the historical background and implementation of these regulatory changes, compares the old and new regulations and describes the local taxi industry prior to the regulatory revisions.