01475796

Component

As transportation costs rise, and tax relief and aid diminish each year, school districts are under increasing pressure to consolidate, reduce or eliminate bus services for students. However, school districts are not the only transportation providers facing constrained resources. Public transit agencies face their own financial squeeze to efficiently deliver quality transportation services to meet growing demand while facing rising costs. School bus and public transportation agencies face similar economic obstacles, yet they have distinct operating characteristics and scheduling needs, and they are restricted by differing regulations and policies. However, the potential exists for improved efficiencies, cost savings, and retention and expansion of mobility through transportation coordination between school districts and public transit agencies. Under a “quick response” project sponsored by the TCC/FTA Research Program, The Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center researched the current state of the practice of coordination nationally and its potential feasibility in New Jersey. The research examined successful national models and determined potential barriers and strategies for pursuing transportation coordination within the state of New Jersey. Examples of coordination in New Jersey are limited but suggest that more communities could pursue these arrangements to their benefit. The benefits of coordination between school districts and public transit agencies must override the potential barriers including loss of local control and legal restrictions for school bus use, as well as outperform alternative arrangements with coordinated transportation service agencies that currently assist schools with transportation consolidation and efficiency. Some successful strategies in operation in New Jersey, such as utilizing public transit for high school and some middle school students, implementing administrative coordination as well as exploring innovative coordination, may prove replicable for communities statewide.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AP010 Transit Management and Performance.

01470560

13-1399

English

17p

2013

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

References

Coordination; Mobility; Public transit; School buses

New Jersey

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

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-1399

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 5 2013 12:22PM