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Conditions and Performance Report. Chapter 2

Conditions and Performance Report
Chapter 2—System and Use Characteristics

Conditions and Performance Chapter Listing

Conditions and Performance Home Page


Introduction

Summary


Highway and Bridge System and Use Characteristics

Transit System Characteristics

 

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Transit System Characteristics
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The Role of Mass Transit

Public transit in the United States performs several services for transit passengers and local taxpayers. These can be summarized by three public policy functions:
  • Transit provides basic mobility for those who cannot operate a motor vehicle because of low income, disability, youth, old age, or other reasons. These users benefit from a transit system that provides regular access to multiple destinations at a low cost.
  • Transit encourages household location efficiency. A well-developed transit system encourages dense, multiple-purpose, pedestrian-oriented urban development in the vicinity of transit corridors and stations. This pattern of development allows households to reduce their ownership and use of motor vehicles while continuing to enjoy the benefits of accessibility to activity destinations.
  • Transit assists in congestion relief. If transit service consistently provides door-to-door travel times that are competitive with those of private automobile trips, then transit will provide a meaningful substitute for autos as the travel mode of choice. In doing so, transit can effectively reduce roadway congestion. This function is especially important for commuting trips, which are often made during times of peak-period congestion on the urban road system. This function is best served by transit modes with a separate right-of-way and grade from the highway system, such as bus rapid transit and heavy rail systems.

These three public policy functions, while distinct in purpose, will obviously overlap with and support each other. For example, a transit vehicle may primarily serve as a congestion relief tool during peak travel periods while supporting basic mobility in off-peak hours. An individual may choose a housing location near a transit station in order to both avoid rush-hour congestion and to access diverse shopping and entertainment activities in the evening. For illustration purposes, however, it is often useful to assign transit trips to a particular functional category. Exhibit 2-14 describes such a classification system for transit trips in the 1995 Nationwide Passenger Transportation Survey.

Exhibit 2-14
Classification of Transit Trips by Public Policy Function
Source: 1995 NPTS.

Using these definitions, Exhibit 2-15 indicates that basic mobility accounted for 40.1 percent of total transit passengers in 1995. Location efficiency accounted for 25.3 percent of total patronage, while congestion relief represented 34.7 percent of transit patronage.

Exhibit 2-15
Passenger Trips by Public Policy Function
Source: 1995 NPTS.

Exhibit 2-16 illustrates the distinct market niche that each of the three policy functions serves. Only 20 percent of the transit trips made by the basic mobility group were for work trips, compared with 38.8 percent of the trips made by the location efficient group and 58.6 percent for the congestion relief group. For basic mobility, transit serves a wide variety of purposes, as users in this niche depend on transit for most of their mobility needs. Transit usage in the location efficiency niche serves fewer mobility purposes, as more of these purposes are served by neighborhood walking trips. Work trips dominate for congestion relief, when non-discretionary travel needs during peak congestion periods make rapid transit an appealing alternative to the private automobile.

The average trip distance for basic mobility, 10.2 miles, is similar to the average automobile trip distance in the United States. The average trip distance for those wishing to bypass congestion is twice as long, reflecting the particular appeal of rapid transit for lengthy, congested work trips. Transit trips are shortest for those interested in location efficiency, reflecting transit's role in distributing passengers across central neighborhoods and commercial centers.

Exhibit 2-16
Trip Characteristics of Transit's Primary Market Niches
Source: 1995 NPTS.

The relatively high share of basic mobility trips (82.9 percent) on buses as compared to location efficiency and congestion relief (60.1 and 57.3 percent, respectively) reflects two important characteristics of mass transit and its ridership. First, it reflects the preference of transit users in these two latter niches (who generally have higher incomes than those of basic mobility users) for faster modes of transportation, such as rail transit. Second, the greater dependence of the basic mobility group on bus transit also reflects the greater coverage provided by bus routes relative to rail routes, an especially important feature to individuals with limited mobility, such as the elderly and disabled.

Exhibit 2-17 shows how transit usage by the three market niches varies by time of day. Trips made by the location efficient group, above-poverty households without cars, tend to be evenly distributed throughout the day, with a very mild peaking in the morning and afternoon. Trips made by people from below poverty households tend to be slightly more peaked during the commuting hours. Transit use by above poverty households with cars contributes the most to the peaking of travel demand.

Exhibit 2-17
Transit Trips by Function and Time of Day, 1995
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Page last modified on November 7, 2014
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