00743694

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1604-01

http://scholar.google.com...illy&publication_year=1997

Fundamental transit service design in a number of small cities in Western Europe, which have reputationally good transit systems, is discussed. This work was the result of a transit study tour sponsored by the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). Key differences between transit design practice in Europe and the United States include longer distances between stops, superior customer information at bus stops, more frequent service, and downtown schedule coordination in the European systems. The combination of low-floor buses, off-board fare collection, long distances between stops, and multiple boarding doors on buses enables these systems to carry a large number of customers without deteriorating schedule speed. Several transit systems have used imaginative methods of providing service in low-density markets such as sparsely settled areas and evening and weekend transit service. These include the use of group taxis that travel between downtown and bus stops in the rest of the city. Compared with U.S. transit systems of comparable size, European transit systems are more technology driven. Even small cities have traffic-signal preemption systems, schedule adherence systems, and off-board electronic fare collection technology. Possible application of some of these techniques to transit practice in the United States is discussed.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1604, Public Transit 1997: Planning, Management, Marketing, and New Technology.

English

p. 3-8

1997

Transportation Research Record

0309062071

Tables (2)

Boarding; Bus priority; Doors (Vehicles); Low floor vehicles; Passenger information systems; Public transit; Schedules; Small cities; Study tours; Traffic signal preemption

Service frequency; Transit services

Western Europe

Western Europe

Highways; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 22 1997 12:00AM

• ACCESSIBLE LOW-FLOOR BUS: SYSTEM APPROACH IN FRANCE
• DEVELOPING A PERFORMANCE-BASED TRANSIT ALLOCATION FORMULA: CASE STUDY FOR A PARTICIPATORY PROCESS
• FEASIBILITY OF ADVANCED VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR TRANSIT BUSES
• HAVE WE LOST THE MESSAGE BEFORE GAINING THE KNOWLEDGE?
• IDENTIFYING NEW MARKETS FOR RAIL TRANSIT: CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY'S SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR
• INDIANA PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
• INFLUENCE OF THE METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY ON POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT LOCATION
• INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR REVENUE CAPTURE AND CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR TRANSIT
• INTEGRATED DECISION SUPPORT TOOL FOR EVALUATING TRANSIT AND LAND-USE COORDINATION POLICIES
• MOBILITY ANALYSIS OF TRANSIT SYSTEMS
• PARKING SUPPLY POLICY AND TRANSIT USE: CASE STUDY OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA
• PEDESTRIAN ACCESS TO TRANSIT: MODEL OF WALK TRIPS AND THEIR DESIGN AND URBAN FORM DETERMINANTS AROUND BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT STATIONS
• PUBLIC TRANSPORT PRICING POLICY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE OF REGIONAL BUS CARD SYSTEMS IN FINLAND
• RESEARCH ON CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSIT SERVICE DESIGN AND DELIVERY
• SYSTEMS PLANNING FOR CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT: CASE STUDY OF NEW JERSEY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
• TRANSIT FRIENDLINESS FACTOR: APPROACH TO QUANTIFYING TRANSIT ACCESS ENVIRONMENT IN A TRANSPORTATION PLANNING MODEL
• TRANSIT INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR TRANSIT-DEPENDENT RIDERS
• UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENCES IN PUBLIC TRANSIT: COMPARISON OF BOSTON AND TORONTO
• USE OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR ANALYSIS OF TRANSIT PEDESTRIAN ACCESS