Conditions and Performance Chapter Listing

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Introduction

Summary

Highway and Bridge System and Use Characteristics

Transit System Characteristics

System Capacity

Transit service capacity is measured by vehicle revenue miles (VRM), which incorporate the distance traveled by a transit vehicle (e.g., a bus or train car) in passenger-carrying revenue service. Vehicle revenue miles can be adjusted to reflect differences in the carrying capacity of different kinds of transit vehicles, using the typical bus as the reference point. The resulting measure, Transit Capacity-Equivalent Miles, is shown in Exhibit 2-20.

In 1997, transit operators supplied 3.44 billion capacity-equivalent miles of service in the United States. Of this total, 1.72 billion capacity-equivalent miles came from rail modes, a 2.0 percent annual increase since 1987, and 1.72 billion came from non-rail modes, representing an annual rate of increase of 1.6 percent over the same time period.

Exhibit 2-20

Transit Capacity, 1987-1997 (Millions of Urban Transit Capacity-Equivalent Vehicle Revenue Miles)

Source: National Transit Database.