TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD No. 1503 Public Transit Public Transportation 1995: Current Research in Operations A peer-reviewed publication of the Transportation Research Board TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS WASHINGTON, D.C. 1995 Transportation Research Record 1503 John P. Aurelius, James A. Brown, James W. Burcham, Donald 0. Eisele, ISSN 0361-1981 Thomas E. Frawley, George Edward Gray, Steven R. Hanson, ISBN 0-309-06165-2 Thomas R. Hickey, Jack M. Kanarek, Jerome Kirzner, R. David Minister, Price: $30.00 Jeffrey G. Mora, Katherine O'Neil, Eugene K. Skoropowski, George M. Smerk, James Stoetzel, Edson Leigh Tennyson, Subscriber Category John F. Tucker III, Richard W. Whitehead VI public transit Committee on Paratransit Printed in the United States of America Chairman: Roy E. Lave, Systan Inc. James Chin; Robert H. Corressel, David J. Cyra, Manuel de Alba Perez, Richard DeRock, Gorman Gilbert, Roy E. Glauthier, Robert Jans, F. Ron Jones, Alfred B. LaGasse III, Barbara Lupro, Rosemary G. Mathias, Claire E. McKnight, Gerald K. Miller, Peter M. Schauer, Nancy L. Senn, S. Ling Sponsorship of Transportation Research Record 1503 Suen, Roger F. Teal GROUP 1-TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS PLANNING AND Committee on Light Rail Transit ADMINISTRATION Chairman: Thomas F. Larwin, San Diego Metropolitan Transportation Chairman: Thomas F. Humphrey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Development Board Secretary: John W. Schumann, LTK Engineering Services Public Transportation Section Gregory P. Benz, Jack W. Boorse, David Calver, Douglas R. (:ampion, Chairman: Subhash R. Mundie, Mundie & Associates Inc. Thomas J. Carmichael, John H. Chaput, Ronald DeGraw, Donald 0. Eisele, Rodney W. Kelly, S. David Phraner, Steven E. Polzin, Pilka Committee on Bus Transit Systems Robinson, Peter J. Schmidt, Joseph S. Silien, John D. Wilkins, Nigel H. M. Chairman: Kenneth 0. Stanley, Pierce County Public Transportation Wilson, Oliver W. Wischmeyer, Jr., Richard Wolsfeld, Jr. Secretary: John Dockendorf, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Bruce B. Emory, Donn Fichter, Edward R. Fleischman, Peter G. Furth, GROUP 2-DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF Michael R. Garcia, Richard L. Gerhart, George A. Gregori, Milton D. TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES Harmelink, Brendon Hemily, Andrew Hollander, Ronald J. Kilcoyne, Chairman: Michael G. Katona, U.S. Air Force Armstrong Lab Herbert S. Levinson, Leo F. Marshall, David M. Norstrom, Patti Post, Charles E. Prestrud, David J. Sampson, Franklin L. Spielberg Railway Systems Section Chairman: A. J. Reinschmidt, Association ofAmerican Railroads Committee on Intermodal Transfer Facilities Chairman: Gregory P. Benz, Parsons Brinckerhoff Committee on Rail Transit System Design Charles F. Arndt, Frank F. Baron III, Howard P. Benn, John F. Cikota, Chairman: Patrick A. Nowakowski, Southeastern Pennsylvania Matthew A. Coogan, Ilona V. Czinkota, Donald L. Dean, Benita H. Gray, Transportation Authority Thomas R. Hickey, Jerome M. Lutin, Gerald J. Pachucki, Richard R. Secretary: Donald A. Shoff, Daniel Mann Johnson Mendenhall Sarles, Jerry B. Schneider, Jorg Schonharting, W. Douglas Varn, William Robert C. Arnlund, Robert E. Clemons, Ronald H. Dunn, Michael E. M. Wood, Alexander Young Duval, George A. Figueredo, Earle M. Hughes, Bertie Jackson, Mohammad S. Longi, Vincent P. Mahon, Philip J. McQueen, James T. Committee on Rail Transit Systems Nelson, Don H. Painter, Robert Schumacher, Mahesh J. Sharma, Andrew Chairman: S. David Phraner, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Sluz, Roy T. Smith, Charles L. Stanford, Erland A. Tillman, John Insco Secretary: John P. Aurelius, NJ Transit Corporation Williams John A. Bailey, Paul N. Bay, Jack W. Boorse, Thomas J. Carmichael, Peter Fahrenwald, Alex E. Friedlander, Thomas R. Hickey, Wendy J. Hoyt, Transportation Research Board Staff Robert J. Landgraf, Thomas F. Larwin, Herbert S. Levinson, Richard S. Robert E. Spicher, Director, Technical Activities Marshment, R. David Minister, David J. Mitchell, Marianne A. Payne, Peter L. Shaw, Public Transportation Specialist Steven E. Polzin, Lee H. Rogers, P. Takis Salpeas, Peter J. Schmidt, John Elaine King, Rail Transport Specialist W. Schumann, John D. Wilkins, Nigel H. M. Wilson Nancy A. Ackerman, Director, Reports and Editorial Services Committee on Commuter Rail Transportation Sponsorship is indicated by a footnote at the end of each paper. The Chairman: Walter E. Zullig, Jr., Metro-North Commuter Railroad organizational units, officers, and members are as of December 31, Vice Chairman: Emmanuel S. Horowitz, AMTRAK 1994. Transportation Research Record 1503 Contents Foreword vii Part 1-Bus, Paratransit, and Electric Trolley Bus Metromover Extensions and Downtown Bus Service in Miami 3 Dennis Hinebaugh and Daniel K. Boyle Electric Bus Operation and Evaluation in California 14 T. Chira-Chavala, D. Empey, M. Puvathingal, and C. Venter Assessment of Alternative Structures for Privately Operated Bus Systems 23 faimu Won Bus Priority at Traffic Signals in Portland: The Powell Boulevard 29 Pilot Project Katharine M. Hunter-Zaworski, William C. Kloos, and Alan R. Danaher Transit Vehicle-Type Scheduling Problem 34 Avishai Ceder , Optimal Mixed Bus Fleet for Urban Operations 39 Kurt Ker-Tshung Lee, Sharon H.F. Kuo, and Paul M. Schonfeld Operational Characteristics of Paratransit in Developing Countries 49 of Asia Toshikazu Shimazaki and Md. Mukitur Rahman Economics of Electric Trolley Coach Operation 57 E. L. Tennyson Evaluation of Visual Impacts of Trolleybus Overhead 63 Catenary System Intersections Arthur Schwartz, John S. Kulpa, and John C. Falcocchio Electric and Magnetic Fields and Electric Transit Systems 69 Robert B. Fisher Part 2-Rail, Intermodal, and Light Rail Diverting Automobile Users to Transit: Early Lessons from the Chicago 79 Transit Authority's Orange Line Sarah]. LaBelle and Darwin G. Stuart Street-Running Rail Transit: A Historical Perspective 88 Herbert S. Levinson Diesel or Electric Power for Commuter Rail? It Depends... 96 Maurice A. Sulkin Generic Objectives for Evaluation of Intermodal Passenger 104 Transfer Facilities Alan J. Horowitz and Nick A. Thompson Airport Ground Access: Rail Transit Alternatives 111 Srinivasa R. Mandalapu and William J. Sproule Retrofit Techniques for Floating Slab Track 118 Homer M. Chen Calgary Light Rail Transit Surface Operations and 127 Grade-Level Crossings Dave Colquhoun, John Morrall, and John Hubbell Cost of Light Rail Collision Accidents 137 Christopher D. Porter, Mark M. Hansen, and Abner Gallardo Foreword This volume addresses the operational aspects of public transportation and presents new research. In each category, new ideas are explored and improved practices discussed. Potential application is real and holds significant promise of improved utility and better customer service. The papers are based upon presentations at TRB's 74th Annual Meeting in January 1995 in Wash­ ington, D.C., and have been reviewed by peers (practitioner and academic) in the field of public trans­ portation, in accordance with established Transportation Research Board procedures. In Part 1, Bus, Paratransit, and Electric Trolley Bus, research covers 10 topics. As systems grow, it is important to study service changes, as in the case of feeder bus service to the Miami, Florida cen­ tral business district (Hinebaugh and Boyle). On the West Coast, electric bus operations are evaluated as a new technology (Chira-Chavala et al.). Private bus service in Seoul, Korea, is undergoing service pressure from new subway lines and the private automobile (Won). To speed bus service, different bus priority at traffic signals technology is evaluated in Portland, Oregon (Hunter-Zaworski et al.). Still, maximizing scheduled use of transit vehicles is quite a challenge (Ceder) to model, as well as deter­ mining the optimal mixed bus fleet in urban service (Lee et al.). For paratransit, there is need to un­ derstand its role in the provision of transit service in developing countries (Shimazaki and Rahman). Electric trolley bus economics (Tennyson), evaluation of intersection configurations (Schwartz et al.), and electric magnetic fields (Fisher) are explored as well. In Part 2, eight topics of Rail, Intermodal, and Light Rail research are presented. In Chicago a new CBD-Midway Airport line opened and has increased ridership overall in the corridor (LaBelle and Stuart). Street-running transit (rail transit, interurban, streetcar) is evaluated as a guide to the future (Levinson). As more systems become commuter rail oriented, the alternatives of using diesel or elec­ tric power must be decided (Sulk.in). Other aspects of rail include evaluation of intermodal passenger transfer facilities (Horowitz and Thompson), rail access to airports (Mandalapu and Sproule), and track noise mitigation (Chen). In Calgary, Canada, light rail transit safety (Colquhoun et al.) and in San Jose, California, light rail collision accidents (Porter et al.) are analyzed. Research in public transportation operations has clearly expanded in the last several years. There is much of interest to report. vii PARTl Bus, Paratransit, and Electric Trolley Bus TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD 1503 3 Metromover Extensions and Downtown Bus Service in Miami DENNIS HINEBAUGH AND DANIEL K. BOYLE The results of survey of feeder bus service in the Miami Central Busi­ within the Omni and Brickell corridors. The third section contains ness District (CBD) serving the elevated Miami Metromover downtown an analysis of the impacts of truncating