Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs Open Access Dissertations Theses and Dissertations January 2016 Assessing Public Transportation Options for Intercity Travel in U.S. Rural and Small Urban Areas: A Multimodal, Multiobjective, and People- Oriented Evaluation Vasiliki Dimitra Pyrialakou Purdue University Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations Recommended Citation Pyrialakou, Vasiliki Dimitra, "Assessing Public Transportation Options for Intercity Travel in U.S. Rural and Small Urban Areas: A Multimodal, Multiobjective, and People-Oriented Evaluation" (2016). Open Access Dissertations. 1268. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/1268 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. Graduate School Form 30 Updated PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance This is to certify that the thesis/dissertation prepared By Vasiliki Dimitra Pyrialakou Entitled Assessing Public Transportation Options for Intercity Travel in U.S. Rural and Small Urban Areas: A Multimodal, Multiobjective, and People-Oriented Evaluation For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Is approved by the final examining committee: Konstantina Gkritza Chair Sandra S. Liu Jon D. Fricker Fred L. Mannering To the best of my knowledge and as understood by the student in the Thesis/Dissertation Agreement, Publication Delay, and Certification Disclaimer (Graduate School Form 32), this thesis/dissertation adheres to the provisions of Purdue University’s “Policy of Integrity in Research” and the use of copyright material. Approved by Major Professor(s): Konstantina Gkritza Approved by: Dulcy M. Abraham 6/28/2016 Head of the Departmental Graduate Program Date ASSESSING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS FOR INTERCITY TRAVEL IN U.S. RURAL AND SMALL URBAN AREAS: A MULTIMODAL, MULTIOBJECTIVE, AND PEOPLE-ORIENTED EVALUATION A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University by Vasiliki Dimitra Pyrialakou In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2016 Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana ii In memory of My father, Dimitrios E. Pyrialakos, without whom I would never have had the courage to pursue my dreams. My academic father, Matthew G. Karlaftis, without whom I would never have had a dream to pursue. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my major professor, Dr. Konstantina Gkritza, for her continuous support throughout my Ph.D. years and for her role in helping me complete this dissertation. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Sandra Liu, Dr. Jon Fricker, and Dr. Fred Mannering, for their time and valuable feedback. In addition, I would like to give special thanks to all who helped me arrange and prepare the focus group meetings, including Dr. Bob McCullouch, Program Manager, Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP); Mike Piggott, Community Relations Director, Purdue University; and Arvid Olson, community volunteer. I would also like to thank the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and Joint Transportation Research Program (JTRP) staff who arranged office space for the Indianapolis focus group meeting. Furthermore, I would like to thank my fellow students who helped conduct the meetings. I would also like to acknowledge all the focus group participants, who will remain anonymous for reasons of privacy. Furthermore, I would like to give my warm thanks to all who helped me administer and distribute the survey. Neil Bagaus and all the onboard personnel at Iowa Pacific Holdings as well as the Amtrak conductors facilitated my onboard data collection and helped make these rides a memorable experience. Donald Yehle, editor of All Aboard Indiana, the newsletter of the Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance, provided valuable support in distributing the survey online. Finally, I would like to thank Joe Krause, community volunteer and passenger assistant at the Amtrak Depot in Lafayette, Indiana, for his valuable insights regarding the preparation of the questionnaire and survey. I would also like to thank Venetta Keefe, Passenger Rail Contract Manager at INDOT, for her support and help with the case study of the Hoosier State train. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my beloved husband, Peter Hunsinger, for his love, patience, proofreading, support, and encouragement. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ xi NOMENCLATURE ..................................................................................................................... xiii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. xiv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Background: Transportation in Rural and Small Urban Areas ...................... 2 1.1.1 The Social Aspect of Rural and Small Urban Transportation .............................. 3 1.1.2 Transportation Planning in the U.S. Rural Areas ................................................. 4 1.1.3 Rural Public Transportation ................................................................................. 6 1.1.4 Intercity Travel ..................................................................................................... 7 1.1.5 Passenger Rail ...................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Research Goals and Research Framework................................................................... 10 1.3 Research Setting .......................................................................................................... 14 1.4 Dissertation Contribution ............................................................................................ 14 1.5 Dissertation Organization ............................................................................................ 15 CHAPTER 2. RURAL AND SMALL URBAN SETTINGS ............................................. 17 2.1 Classification Schemes and Transportation Networks ................................................ 18 2.1.1 Classification Schemes and Criteria ................................................................... 18 2.1.1.1 Urban and Rural Areas (2010) by the Census Bureau .................................. 20 2.1.1.2 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Statistical Areas (2010) by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).................................................................. 20 2.1.1.3 Rural-Urban Continuum Code (2003, 2000 Census Data) by the Economic Research Service (ERS) ................................................................................ 21 2.1.1.4 Urban Influence Code (2003, 2000 Census Data) by the ERS ..................... 21 2.1.1.5 Rural-Urban Commuting Areas (RUCA) (2000, 2000 Census Data) by the ERS ............................................................................................................... 21 v 2.1.1.6 Urban Population-Rural Density Code (2000, 2000 Census Data) by Ripplinger et al.............................................................................................. 21 2.1.2 Transportation Networks .................................................................................... 22 2.2 Comparison of Classification Schemes ....................................................................... 23 2.2.1 Aggregation Level .............................................................................................. 23 2.2.2 Number of Classes ............................................................................................. 24 2.2.3 Territorial Boundaries of the Delineated Areas.................................................. 25 2.2.4 Urban-Rural Population ..................................................................................... 26 2.2.5 Additional Transport-Related Area Characteristics ........................................... 27 2.2.6 Complexity and Efficiency ................................................................................. 27 2.3 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 3. EMPIRICAL SETTING .............................................................................. 29 3.1 The State of Indiana ..................................................................................................... 29 3.2 Evolution of Rail in Indiana ........................................................................................ 32 3.3 The Hoosier State Line ................................................................................................ 34 3.4 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER 4. ASSESSMENT OF TRANSPORT DISADVANTAGE IN RURAL AND SMALL URBAN AREAS ........................................................................... 38 4.1 Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 39 4.1.1 Equitable Access to Transportation ...................................................................