New Project (TRCLC 15-2)
TRCLC 15-2: Development and Assessment of Performance Measures for Evaluating and Improving Regional Transit Coordination Using GTFS Data
PI: Jun-Seok Oh, Western Michigan University
Abstract
Objective: The focus of the proposed study is to extend the application of General Transit Feed System (GTFS) data in order to develop performance measures and analytical techniques designed to evaluate, categorize and improve coordination of regional transit operations and services.
Background While personal mobility in the United States relies heavily on the private automobile and associated infrastructure, numerous social, economic and environmental benefits can be achieved by fostering convenient and effective public transit systems. However, fostering convenient and efficient public transit systems will require both considerable investment and, important to this research, regional coordination. The separation of urban, suburban and exurban public transportation services has meant that people who travel across jurisdictions—e.g., .from cities to rural areas and between suburban areas—often find public transit a difficult or unviable mode of transportation; thus transit agencies and operators need to become less parochial and more unified and regional.
Methods: This study seeks to build on the public transit quality of service, regional transit coordination and general transit feed system (GTFS) literatures to develop standards that are both meaningful and readily applicable to improving regional inter-agency transit operations and services. To this end, our methodological approach is carried out in five steps: (1) The initial step is to conduct a comprehensive review on state-of-the-practices in regional coordination and, specifically, identify performance measures that are potentially relevant for evaluating coordination across complex jurisdictional transit terrains; (2) In step two, we align variables represented in the GTFS data with other relevant spatial information to operationalize—via Python scripts and a PostGIS spatial database—above performance measures or indices of regional transit coordination; (3) In step three we draw from previous research, reports and recent GTFS data to develop a stratified sample of regions with complex, multi-operator public transportation systems to test the performance measures; (4) In step four we execute the performance measures on the study areas delineated in step three; and (5) The final step entails surveying and interviewing select transit agencies to assess the accuracy and potential usefulness of the indices.
Outcomes/Implications: The primary goal of the proposed study is to build on and expand the use of the GTFS open data format to examine system performance; with special attention paid to the coordination of regional transit operations in multi-operator service areas. Specifically, the research team will employ GTFS data and spatial analytical techniques to develop novel performance measures that help assist in the evaluation of transit coordination in complex jurisdictional settings. This research anticipates that targeted performance measures will help agencies optimize coordination thus leading to higher transit demand, greater accessibility, larger transit coverage, and higher overall customer satisfaction.
Relevance to TRCLC Mission: This study’s objective is directly related to the Transportation Research Center for Livable Communities’ (TRCLC) research focus areas, which include System and network, planning, design, and simulation for improving transportation services; and decision making models and policies that address competing transportation priorities and needs.