URBAN MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM

1. URBAN MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM

12. STEP 1 • Walking-pedestrians.

13. STEP 2 • Use of small motorized cabins (private automobiles).

14. STEP 3 • Introduction of cabins as common carrier service (taxis).

15. Taxi Service Taxi refers to for-hire automobile travel supplied by private companies. Taxi service is an important Transportation Option that meets a variety of needs, including basic mobility in emergencies, general transportation for non-drivers, and mobility for visitors to a community.

16. Taxi Service [cont’d] Taxi service can be an important backup option for other alternative forms of transportation, such as allowing pedestrians to carry large loads back from a store, providing an emergency ride home when a cyclist has a medical or mechanical problem, or a Guaranteed Ride Home for a rideshare or transit commuter. In this role, Taxi Improvements can be an important support for TDM efforts to encourage use of alternative modes and reduce personal automobile ownership.

17. Taxi Service can be improved by: • Increasing the number of taxis in an area. • Increasing the quality of taxi vehicles (comfort, carrying capacity, reliability, safety), improving support services (such as radio dispatch), driver skill and courtesy. • Universal Design of taxi vehicles, including accommodating people in wheelchairs and with large packages. • Reducing fares through regulation, competition, increased efficiency, incentives or subsidies. • Allowing shared taxi trips (more than one passenger). • Providing taxi stands, curb access and direct telephone lines

18. STEP 4 • Construction of wider paths (arterials) • Higher L/S, • Lower unit transportation cost, • Stimulus to economic growth, • High investment requirements, • Negative environmental impact of wide paths and large cabin storage facilities.

19. STEP 5 • Introduction of common carrier service, first by medium-size vehicles with flexible operations (paratransit), then by large vehicles with fixed routes and schedules (bus transit)

20. STEP 5 • Lower cost transportation becomes available to all persons in the area served, • Simple and conveniently scheduled service is provided throughout the transit network, • Increased street capacity: higher L/S for all vehicles,

21. STEP 5 • Less congestion and its negative impacts, • Since it is difficult to charge small-capsule drivers the full cost (including social) of their travel, transit must often be subsidized to attract its potential passengers.

22. STEP 5 Replacement of medium by large transit vehicles or units (TUs) results in: • Higher transporting capacity, • Lower cost per unit capacity, mostly due to higher labor productivity, • Greater riding comfort, • Lower service frequency for given demand.

26. STEP 6 Partial separation of modes (transit R/W category B) • Higher level of service and system maintenance, • Stronger system image and identity, • Higher passenger attraction, • Lower unit operating cost.

30. STEP 6 • Stronger impact on land use and urban form due to permanence, • Changed traffic conditions, depending on whether the transit R/W is outside or within existing streets (e.q., curbed median), • Additional land required, • Substantial investment and construction required.

31. STEP 7 Introduction of guided transit (LRT) • Higher capacity and productivity due to operation of trains. • Lower operating cost per unit of offered capacity, • Electric traction possible, • Greater reliability and safety (fail-sfae operation), • Narrower R/W

32. STEP 7 • Operation in tunnels, on viaduct, and in park areas possible without significant environmental damage. • Less compatible with other traffic in street operation, • Limited to the guide-way network only, therefore uneconomical for extensive routing in low-density areas.

33. STEP 7 • Lower operational flexibility (rerouting, detours, etc.), • Requires higher investment.

34. STEP 8 Construction of grade-separated wide paths (freeway) • Higher performance (capacity, speed, reliability, etc.), • Higher L/S, • Lower operating costs, • Greater permanence of system performance (frontages protected from developments),

35. STEP 8 • Permanence that affects land uses, • Considerably larger area requirements (particularly for interchange), • High investment costs, • Disruption of corridor during construction.

36. STEP 9 Provision of fully controlled R/W for common carriers (rapid transit) • Higher performance (capacity-long trains, speed, reliability, etc.), • Higher L/S, • Lower operating costs per unit capacity, • Stronger image and identity, • Higher passenger attraction,

38. STEP 9 • Stronger land use impacts, • Possibility of automation, • Need for grade separation of the entire R/W • Requires higher investment • Disruptions of the corridor during the construction, • Less extensive network.

39. STEP 10 • Increased frequency of service without additional cost, • Lower energy consumption and vehicle wear due to preprogrammed driving, • Easier recovery of service disturbances, • Lower operating cost, • Higher operating safety,

40. STEP 10 • Considerably higher capital cost, • Much greater technical complexity and therefore lower reliability, • Requirement for automated track supervision and communication with passengers for handling emergencies and security.

41. Bus Service Planning Evaluation of Demand Whether you are contemplating the addition of new routes to an existing bus transit system, or developing an entirely new bus system in a community, you’ll need to estimate the number of users that your new routes will service. Once you have estimated where and when the demand will be present, you can design your bus transit system to service that demand.

42. Bus Service Planning Evaluation of Demand As discussed in the chapter entitled "Travel Demand Forecasting," you can divide the area that you want to service into regions and conduct trip generation, trip distribution, and mode split analyses of the region with your proposed route structure in place. This will give you an estimate of the number of users that will decide to use your new bus route(s) instead of their current means of transportation.

43. Bus Service Planning Evaluation of Demand Once you have this information, you can use existing traffic data and microanalysis of the regions to determine when the peak travel periods are and what specific destinations are the most common. For example, if you knew that a school was present in zone "A" and that zone "B" was primarily residential, you might deduce that a high demand for travel from zone "A" to zone "B" would exist around 3:00 PM.

44. Bus Service Planning Evaluation of Demand Having a firm understanding of the demand for bus service in both the spatial and temporal dimensions will make the remainder of the bus service planning process much easier.

45. Bus Service Planning Route and Network Structures A network is a system of routes. Routes are individual paths that are taken by transit vehicles. Routes include a spatial element—the streets and stops that are serviced along the way, and a temporal element —the time that the bus will arrive and depart from each stop or station.

46. Bus Service Planning Route and Network Structures Selecting a network structure is a complicated task, for which there is not a simple solution. There are, however, a few network structures that have become very common.

47. Bus Service Planning Route and Network Structures Grid networks are common in large cities. These systems tend to be centered on the central business district with few routes venturing far outside the central business district (CBD). Grid networks make extensive use of the existing roadways.

48. Bus Service Planning Route and Network Structures Where traffic is heavy, deep within the CBD, one or more exclusive bus lanes may be required in order to provide buses with adequate freedom to move. Exclusive bus lanes increase the capacity of the system by reducing delays caused by interfering traffic, but the exclusive bus lanes also reduce the capacity of roadways to handle private traffic and parking.

49. Bus Service Planning Route and Network Structures Radial networks are also frequently found in modern cities. These systems contain linear routes from the CBD to outlying suburbs. Commuters who live in the suburbs and work in the central business district are well served by radial networks, but those who want inter-suburb transportation are not well served, unless there are direct lines connecting each of the suburbs. Exclusive bus lanes are occasionally included on radial routes as well.

50. Bus Service Planning Route and Network Structures Many modern cities employ transit systems that are a combination of the grid and radial networks. These networks transport individuals to and from the suburbs using radial routes and then provide transportation within the CBD via a grid network. The route structure should serve the needs of the population; therefore, each community’s needs require special consideration.