INCREASING THE USAGE OF DEMAND-RESPONSE TRANSIT IN RURAL KANSAS by BRIAN CHRISTOPHER GEIGER B.S., Kansas State University, 2007 A THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Civil Engineering College of Engineering KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2009 Approved by: Major Professor Dr. Sunanda Dissanayake DISCLAIMER The contents of this report reflect the views of the author, who is responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation University Transportation Centers Program, in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. Abstract Public transportation in rural America has existed for decades. Its providers are challenged with low populations and long distances in rural areas. Many of these rural transit providers have been in existence for many years, but ridership still remains low. These providers usually operate in a demand-response format, as opposed to large cities, where busses run on fixed routes. This research was conducted to see if any type of service improvements or enhancements could be found in order to increase ridership of demand-response transit service in rural Kansas. In order to determine if ridership of public transportation in rural Kansas can be increased, customer satisfaction surveys were conducted. One survey was distributed to current riders of demand-response systems, one survey distributed to non-riders of public transportation, and the last survey given to providers to obtain basic system information throughout Kansas. Ridership is significantly skewed toward the elderly, disabled, and those who either choose not to drive or are unable to drive. Those who do not fall into one of these three categories often do not use public transportation in rural areas. For most of the riders, public transportation is their only reliable method of mobility as they are transit dependent. Only 35% of the riders had a personal vehicle they could use to make the trip had public transportation not been available. Riders of demand-response transit systems in rural Kansas are pleased with the service provided as a whole. Non-riders are ambivalent toward demand-response transit service. They appreciate the fact that in many cases general public transportation service exist, but they are also generally unwilling to use it themselves. These are typically choice riders, and are unlikely to switch to demand-response transit due to their other mobility options. It was found that the more vehicles a person has access to in their household, the less knowledge they have about public transportation in their area. These people are content to use the vehicles they have, because it is more convenient than using public transportation in rural Kansas. Improvements to the provider’s system, like extending operating hours and days, along with implementing GIS-assisted scheduling may bring higher ridership. However, this may only increase the number of rides by the same current riders with few new riders grained. Increasing the usage of demand response ridership will continue to be a challenge in the future with the increasing number of elderly in the years to come. Table of Contents List of Figures................................................................................................................................vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1 - Introduction......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Demand-Response Transportation.................................................................................. 1 1.2 Rural Kansas Transportation .......................................................................................... 2 1.3 Rural Transit Funding..................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Public Transit Ridership ................................................................................................. 6 1.5 Research Objective ......................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Outline of Thesis............................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER 2 - Literature Review................................................................................................ 8 2.1 Level of Service.............................................................................................................. 8 2.2 Marketing and Advertising in Public Transportation ................................................... 11 2.3 Cooperative Agreements for Public Transportation Agencies ..................................... 16 2.4 Elderly Riders of Public Transit ................................................................................... 17 2.5 Technology in Public Transportation ........................................................................... 20 2.6 Coordinated Transit Districts in Kansas ....................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 3 - Methodology..................................................................................................... 28 3.1 Survey Creation ............................................................................................................ 28 3.2 Survey Distribution....................................................................................................... 29 3.2.1 Rider Survey Distribution......................................................................................... 29 3.2.2 Non-Rider Survey Distribution................................................................................. 32 3.3 ATA Bus Ridership and Gas Prices.............................................................................. 34 3.4 Methodology – Chi-Square Test of Independence ....................................................... 36 CHAPTER 4 - Rider and Non-Rider Results and Findings ...................................................... 38 4.1 Demographics of Riders and Non-Riders..................................................................... 38 4.2 Frequency and Method of Trips for Riders and Non-Riders........................................ 40 4.3 Rider and Non-Rider Time of Trips ............................................................................. 44 iv 4.4 Location Type of Riders and Non-Riders..................................................................... 47 4.5 Rider and Non-Rider Driver’s Licensing and Handicapped Permits ........................... 48 4.6 Rider and Non-Rider Marital Status ............................................................................. 49 4.7 Rider and Non-Rider Household Information .............................................................. 50 4.8 Nearest Relatives of Riders and Non-Riders ................................................................ 52 4.9 Public Transportation Usage and Knowledge .............................................................. 53 4.10 Education Level of Riders and Non-Riders.................................................................. 58 4.11 Information Access by Riders and Non-Riders ............................................................ 58 4.12 Rider Opinions of Transit Service ................................................................................ 59 4.13 Rider Comments ........................................................................................................... 63 4.14 Non-Rider Opinions of Transit Service........................................................................ 65 4.15 Non-Rider Comments................................................................................................... 69 4.16 Rider Characteristics Grouped...................................................................................... 71 4.17 Non-Rider Characteristics Grouped.............................................................................. 73 CHAPTER 5 - Provider Survey ................................................................................................ 86 5.1 Provider Survey Creation.............................................................................................. 86 5.2 Provider Survey Distribution........................................................................................ 86 5.3 Provider Results............................................................................................................ 87 CHAPTER 6 - Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................. 94 6.1 Conclusions................................................................................................................... 94 6.2 Recommendations......................................................................................................... 96 References..................................................................................................................................... 98 Appendix A - Example Surveys ...........................................................................................