Paratransit

Abstract: This report examines the relationship of public transportation (including paratransit and demand-responsive services) to shared modes, including bikesharing, carsharing, microtransit, and ridesourcing services provided by companies such as Uber and Lyft. This report is designed to assist transit agencies in examining issues and exploring opportunities and challenges as they relate to technology-enabled mobility services, including suggesting ways that transit can learn from, build upon, and interface with these new modes. The study draws on several sources of information: in-depth interviews with transportation officials; a survey of shared mobility users; analysis of transit and ridesourcing capacity, demand, and comparative travel times; an assessment of practices and regulations relating to paratransit provision; and a compilation of current business models and public-private partnerships that build on new technologies from the emerging shared mobility sector. The surveys and interviews were conducted in seven cities: Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. The report presents five key findings: among survey respondents, greater use of shared modes is associated with greater likelihood to use transit frequently, own fewer cars, and have reduced transportation spending; shared modes largely complement public transit, enhancing urban mobility; because shared modes are expected to continue growing in significance, public entities should identify opportunities to engage with them to ensure that benefits are widely and equitably shared; the public sector and private mobility operators are eager to collaborate to improve paratransit using emerging approaches and technology; and a number of business models are emerging that include new forms of public-private partnership for provision of mobility and related information services. This report concludes by presenting actions that public entities can take to promote useful cooperation between public and private mobility providers. It also suggests regulatory enhancements, institutional realignments, and forms of public-private engagement that would allow innovation to flourish while still providing mobility as safely, broadly, and equitably as possible.

Abstract: The era of projects aimed at maximizing vehicular travel is being replaced by the broader goal of achieving livable cities: economically efficient, socially sound, and environmentally sustainable. This book explores the complex relationship between transportation and the character of cities and metropolitan regions. The book presents a systematic review of transportation modes and their characteristics and discusses the consequences of excessive automobile dependence and shows that the most livable cities worldwide have intermodal systems that balance highway and public transit modes while providing for pedestrians, bicyclists, and paratransit. The book dispels the myths and emotional advocacies for or against freeways, rail transit, bicycles, and other modes and defines the policies necessary for achieving livable cities--the effective implementation of integrated intermodal transportation systems.

Abstract: Several decades of research on transit pricing have provided clear insights into how riders respond to price changes in both the transit and automobile sectors. For the most part, riders are insensitive to changes in either fare levels, structures, or forms of payments, though this varies considerably among user groups and operating environments. Since riders are approximately twice as sensitive to changes in travel time as they are to changes in fares, a compelling argument can be made for operating more premium quality transit services at higher prices. Such programs could be supplemented by vouchers and concessionary programs to reduce the burden of higher fares on low-income users. Also, cross-elasticity research suggests that higher automobile prices would have a significantly greater affect on ridership than lower fares. Most research on transit fare structures shows that the common practice of flat fares is highly inequitable, penalizing short-distance and off-peak users. Free fare programs have proven quite costly for each new transit user attracted and have rarely lured motorists to transit. Free fares limited to downtowns have been more successful than systemwide free fare programs. While prepayment schemes have met with success in the U.S. and Europe, honor fares have suffered from excessive revenue losses in at least one case in the U.S. Some of the more noteworthy fare policy successes in North America have been Bridgeport's combined pass-fare program, Allentown's deep discounts, Ottawa's major fare reduction and differentiation, and Columbus's substantial midday discount. As paratransit and other new transit alternatives to conventional bus continue to emerge, new, more differentiated fare practices can be expected in the future.