Transit Service Options

General Description:

Transit Service Options includes several different types of public transit schemes utilizing vehicles such as buses and vans.  There are four major types of transit routing options.  Depending on the arrangement of destinations and pick-up locations, certain schemes will be more efficient in moving passengers to and from locations.

Fixed-Route Transit is provided on a repetitive, fixed-schedule basis along a specific route with vehicles stopping to pick up and deliver passengers to specific locations; each fixed-route trip serves the same origins and destinations, unlike demand response. 

Express Routes speed up longer trips, especially in major metropolitan areas during heavily patronized peak commuting hours, by operating long distances without stopping. 

A Park and Ride facility is a parking garage and/or lot used for parking passengers' automobiles, either free or for a fee, while they use transit agency facilities. 

Demand Response (also called paratransit or dial-a-ride) is comprised of passenger cars, vans or small buses operating in response to calls from passengers or their agents to the transit operator, who then dispatches a vehicle to pick up the passengers and transport them to their destinations. 

Shuttle and Trolley Shuttle Service is limited to a small geographic area or to short-distance trips, local service is often called circulator, feeder, neighborhood, or trolley service.  A trolleybus (trolley coach, trackless trolley) is a rubber-tired electrically powered passenger vehicle operating on city streets drawing power from overhead lines.

Effects of Solution:

þ Increase Passenger Throughput (Transit improves throughput)

¨ Increase Roadway Capacity

¨ Manage System Efficiency

þ Reduce Local Demand (Reduces vehicular demand)

Examples of Implementation and Contacts:

Please see the individual Fact Sheets for more details.

• Fixed Route Service
• Demand Responsive Service
• Express Routes
• Park and Ride Transit
• Shuttle and Trolley Service

Cost/Financial Information:

See the related fact sheets for more information.

Additional Resources:

American Public Transportation Association - APTA: http://www.apta.com

Community Transportation Association of America – CTAA: http://www.ctaa.org

Federal Transit Administration – FTA: http://www.fta.dot.gov

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