Regional Service Planning (RSP)

Produced by the Texas Department of Transportation's Public Transportation Division

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UT Austin Developing a Demand Response Transit Accessibility Tool

Contributed by Jeff LaMondia, University of Texas

A research team at the University of Texas at Austin, under the supervision of Dr. Chandra Bhat, is currently developing a tool for measuring demand responsive transit (DRT) accessibility as part of TxDOT funded project 0-5178-01. The tool will allow transit operators and planners to determine how well a DRT system currently serves its riders and the most efficient ways to improve this service. The DRT accessibility tool, based in Microsoft Access, is intended to be transferable, practical, and valuable for transit agencies of all small and medium communities with DRT service. It is also intended to be easy to use and intuitive. The tool will use service fleet and region information that all operators already have, simulate daily DRT patron travel and travel characteristics, and estimate accessibility for different demographic groups, trip purposes, times of day, and locations.

Ultimately, DRT operators can use the accessibility tool in two robust ways. First, they can evaluate their current accessibility provision for various combinations of population groups, service areas, and travel purposes. For example, an operator will have the option of evaluating accessibility over the entire system or focusing in on accessibility for elderly women traveling for shopping. Second, the accessibility tool will allow operators to undertake "what if?" scenarios to evaluate changes in fleet characteristics (supply), population demographics (demand), and service areas (scope). For instance, an operator can calculate the impact on overall DRT accessibility of adding an additional vehicle or expanding the service region. Similarly, operators can predict (and anticipate) future needs of their riders by using the tool to analyze changes in population demographics. The DRT accessibility tool will be made available to Texas transit operators in September 2008.

For more information on the progress of this project, or if you would like a copy of the final tool, or if you are interested in having your community be involved in the validation portion of the project, please contact Jeff LaMondia of the research team at jeffrey.lamondia@gmail.com.

FY 2009 Funding Applications

Funding Applications for FY 2009 are due in early May. Applications must be received by the Public Transportation Division by 5 pm on May 5, 2008. Answers to questions that have been received by PTN are posted on the TxDOT webpage.

Regional Forums Continue

Regional forums to discuss coordination between transportation and health and human service agencies are underway. Forums have been held in portions of West and South Texas and will continue in other regions until mid-summer. Representatives from lead agencies, transit agencies and diverse health and human service agencies are sharing information on services provided and discussing ways to address gaps and more efficiently share resources. (see schedule )

July 23-24 Workshops: Building Partnerships/Moving Forward

Online registration for the workshop is now available at http://tti.tamu.edu/conferences/tpa08/. The event, "Building Partnerships: Moving Forward" is intended for lead agencies in the regional coordination planning effort, their invited partners, and public transportation coordinators. These invited partners may include urban and rural transit providers, regional coordination planners and regional coordination steering committee members. Each agency will be asked to invite urban and rural transit providers from their respective areas (a list will be provided to lead agencies) as well as four additional persons that may include lead agency staff and key partners such as regional coordination steering committee members.

The workshops will be structured into several themed tracks including building partnerships, coordinated planning, technology applications, marketing for public transportation, and public involvement. In addition to themed tracks, there will be general sessions and opportunities to share best practices in regional transportation coordination. Please contact Steve Wright at swright@dot.state.tx.us for more information.

Upcoming Transit Conference

The 2008 Bus and Paratransit Conference and International Bus Roadeo will be held in Austin on May 3-7. This conference is sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). For more information, please visit their website.