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Introduction It is recognized that hard factors such as travel time, cost, availability of public transport services, and car ownership have a major impact when people consider the choice between using an automobile or public transport. Nevertheless, there is evidence from the literature that rail-based public transport often is considered superior to bus systems, even in cases where quantitative hard factors are equal. This attraction of passengers is known as a psychological rail factor, and it is used to express a higher attraction in terms of higher ridership of rail-based public transport in contrast to bus services (Axhausen et al. 2001; Megel 2001b; Ben-Akiva and Morikawa 2002; Vuchic 2005; Scherer 2010a). The existence of this rail factor is widely accepted among experts, but little evidence exists about the reasons for this phenomena. The idea of a rail factor is consistent with statements that the image of a transport system has an impact on demand. Furthermore, research…

Foreward TCRP Report 153: Guidelines for Providing Access to Public Transportation Stations provides a process and spreadsheet-based tool for effectively planning for access to high capacity transit stations, including commuter rail, heavy rail, light rail, bus rapid transit (BRT), and ferry. The report is accompanied by a CD that includes the station access planning spreadsheet tool that allows trade-off analyses among the various access modes (automobile, transit, bicycle, pedes­trian, and transit-oriented development) for different station types. The potential effectiveness of transit-oriented development opportunities to increase transit ridership is also assessed. This report and accompanying materials are intended to aid the many groups involved in planning, developing, and improving access to high capacity transit stations, including public transportation and highway agencies, planners, developers, and…

Transit‐oriented development (TOD) is an increasingly popular urban form. Based on a survey of residents of TOD projects in areas served by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Fort Worth T, and Capital Metro (Austin) rail transit, moving into TOD decreases VMT by an average of 15 percent, or about 3,500 miles per year, which impacts TxDOT motor fuel tax revenues. The data also indicate that these households shift their choice of route to include more arterial roads versus highways. Differential behavior is observed among the three areas studied with the greatest impact being on the DART system and the Capital Metro system showing smaller
changes in TOD resident travel behaviors. Residents of TOD choose their housing based mostly on commuting distance and lifestyle characteristics, such as proximity to dining and entertainment venues. Proximity to a transit rail station is at least moderately important for 57 percent of respondents. The report recommends that TxDOT look to incorporate…

Abstract This report presents an evaluation of transit-oriented development (TOD) opportunities within the Danbury Branch study corridor as a component of the Federal Transit Administration Alternatives Analysis/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (FTA AA/DEIS) prepared for the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT). This report is intended as a tool for municipalities to use as they move forward with their TOD efforts. The report identifies the range of TOD opportunities at station areas within the corridor that could result from improvements to the Danbury Branch. By also providing information regarding FTA guidelines and TOD best practices, this report serves as a reference and a guide for future TOD efforts in the Danbury Branch study corridor. Specifically, this report presents a definition of TOD and the elements of TOD that are relevant to the Danbury Branch. It also presents a summary of FTA Guidance regarding TOD and includes case studies of FTA-funded projects…

Executive Summary Purpose of Research The Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project is one of many groups calling for new competitive programs with broad investment goals and eligibility, plus incentives for states and metropolitan areas to implement programs that support the nation’s transportation objectives. The New Starts program, administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), is essentially the only discretionary transportation program of any size that o.ers a history of program design and implementation extending over many years. This paper analyzes the FTA’s discretionary New Starts program to identify the lessons learned and compo­nents that might be relevant to these new competitive programs, particularly with respect to federal funding decisions. Findings The New Starts program has broad investment objectives but relatively narrow eligibility. It funds .xed guideway transit projects, such as urban rail and bus rapid transit,…

The purpose of TCRP Project G-10 was to research soft costs in major public transportation infrastructure projects, with the goal of producing a guide for transportation project sponsors to learn more about these costs and better estimate them in the future. This Guidebook is one of two final products from the project and is intended to summarize how the project’s research can be applied to practice. For more detailed information about Project G-10’s data collection, methodology, and statistical analysis, please refer to the Final Report in Part 2, which follows the Guidebook.

Data from National Transit Database, combined with Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency information, examines impacts of automobile, truck, SUV, and public transportation travel on the production of greenhouse gas emissions.

Overview of the FTA’s New Starts project development process and the legal issues associated with it