01474030

Component

“Last Mile” shuttles provide access between transit stations and employment sites. This paper provides an assessment of such shuttles in New Jersey by focusing on services funded by diverse entities. The assessment is made regarding the characteristics of the shuttle corridors, the shuttle users, the employers of the shuttle users, and the work sites. The research involved corridor-level analysis with census block group data and analyses of survey data from shuttle users. The study showed that the “Last Mile” shuttles predominantly serve low-income and carless workers who work for large companies located in highly suburban areas not easily accessible by conventional transit modes. Many of the companies that hire the shuttle users are in the blue-collar sectors such as manufacturing and warehousing. The study shows that the shuttle users are highly dependent on the shuttles for commuting purposes. However, they spend a disproportionately longer time commuting than average workers in New Jersey. The research indicates that because of the nature of the employers served and the mismatch between the characteristics of the shuttle users and the areas served by shuttles, there will be a constant need for shuttles.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AP040 Major Activity Center Circulation Systems.

01470560

13-0421

English

20p

2013

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Maps; References; Tables

Access; Commuters; Employment; Needs assessment; Rail transit stations; Shuttle buses; Transit riders; Work trips

Last mile

New Jersey

Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-0421

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 5 2013 12:13PM