01154347

Component

The Revolutionary Shuttle was implemented between May and August 2009 within Valley Forge National Historical Park and serviced key attractions within the park. User preferences associated with the shuttle service were evaluated through surveys administered to shuttle users. An ordered probit regression model was utilized to relate demographic, experience-use-history, service attributes, time of visit, ridership, and weather to the user’s level of satisfaction ranging from “Very Good,” “Good,” “Average,” “Poor,” and “Very Poor.” This study presents both the findings based on survey responses, and it identifies the most significant variables that affect a user’s rating of a shuttle service. Overall user feedback was extremely positive, with only three ratings in the “Average” categorization. The results indicate that driver friendliness and timeliness of shuttle arrival highly influence a users rating of a shuttle service. In addition, the survey results indicated that the wrap on the shuttle was highly effective in advertising the service to visitors. The presence of small children in a group may actually have influenced groups to use the shuttle service, rather than detour them. Finally, observations made while surveying, and based on the surveys, indicate that if the opportunity to drive a private vehicle within the park exists, a free shuttle service does not result in use of the shuttle service in place of the private vehicle for a large portion of park users.

01147878

10-2104

English

15p

2010

Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting

DVD

Maps (1) ; Photos (1) ; References (16) ; Tables (3)

Consumer preferences; Customer satisfaction; Level of service; Public transit; Shuttle buses; Shuttle service; Transit operating agencies; Travel surveys

Valley Forge National Historical Park

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

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2010 Paper #10-2104

TRIS, TRB

Jan 25 2010 10:58AM