TCRP Report 136: Guidebook for Rural Demand-Response Transportation: Measuring, Assessing, and Improving Performance will be of interest to rural public transportation systems that provide demand-response transit (DRT) services and to the communities they serve. The Guidebook is a resource to assist DRT systems to measure, assess, and improve their performance, focusing on DRT systems in rural areas.
This Guidebook is intended to support public transportation professionals in identifying and implementing appropriate technologies for their transit systems. It can be useful in the procurement of low-tech solutions, such as off-the-shelf computer software, as well as high-tech systems, such as automatic vehicle location systems. The intended audience for this Guidebook includes transit operators managing rural and small urban transit systems of varying size.
The ability of transit agencies to staff dispatch effectively and use technology to its full advantage is critical in responding proactively as service changes occur and in making sound routing decisions. Sound routing decisions result in improved productivity and cost-effective service delivery. A modest 3% improvement in service productivity would save the average rural demand response transit agency approximately 65,000 [dollars] annually. This project focused on improving productivity while maintaining service quality. Researchers collected data from 42 demand response rural and small urban transit agencies regarding operations and use of technology. A database of results identified five transit providers that represented a cross-section of agencies and could be used for case studies of dispatch operation. Case studies focused on: 1) dispatcher goals and objectives, 2) dispatch-driver policies and procedures, 3) team responsibilities and expectations, and 4) reports and material collection. This resulting draft guidebook describes the impact of maximizing productivity, development of policies and procedures that affect productivity, service delivery strategies that impact productivity, dispatch performance measurement, an assessment tool for productivity elements of dispatch, and steps to implement a productive dispatch operation. The final guidebook, when available, will be placed on the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) web site. Staff will request approval to post it on the Texas Department of Transportation's Regional Service Planning web site as well. Notification of the report will be made through e-mail to the U.S. Department of Transportation public transportation coordinators.
