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Session Date: Thursday, September 15, 2022
Session Time: 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Todd Hansen, Associate Research Scientist, Texas A&M Transportation Institute |
Presenter Biographical Statement |
| Mr. Hansen is an Associate Research Scientist for the Transit Mobility Program at TTI with nine years of transportation experience, including significant contributions to TCRP projects. His work focuses on best practices for public transportation agencies, innovative practices in on-demand transportation, accessibility to fixed-route transit for persons with disabilities, public transit and TNC partnerships, tools for small urban and rural public transportation agencies, and analysis of transit agency operational and financial data. Mr. Hansen regularly researches partnerships with private companies and on-demand service models by public transit agencies, recently leading case study research about innovative pilots. He has led technical assistance projects researching practices in shared mobility planning, performance measurement in on-demand transit, developed service scenarios for on-demand public transportation, and investigated funding sources and requirements for innovative transportation solutions. He is the paper review coordinator and a young member of the TRB Committee on Accessible Transportation and Mobility (AME50), leading decisions on conference programming and assisting with research priorities for the committee. |
Presentation Abstract |
| Microtransit is generally considered to be on-demand service for the general public, either directly operated by the transit agency or provided through one or more contractors including traditional paratransit operations companies, taxis and/or transportation network companies (TNCs). These services have been implemented by transit agencies in various settings and to achieve different service goals. The most common reason for implementing microtransit is to expand public transit to new areas or coverage gaps unsuitable for fixed-route transit (FRT) service. For example: • In urban areas, the design of the street network, uneven topology, or the presence of large, difficult-to-serve private developments (e.g., office parks, medical campuses, or late-night entertainment centers) may be unconducive to fixed transit routes. • In suburban areas where FRT does not match up well with limited demand and/or circuitous street networks, transit agencies have implemented microtransit to expand access to public transit or replace infrequent fixed route service (either whole routes or route segments). • Microtransit has also been implemented to replace FRT during low-demand days of the week and times and to provide evening/late night mobility after fixed route transit service concludes. Transit agencies with at-capacity parking facilities at rail stations and transit centers have implemented microtransit to attract riders without requiring them to drive from their home to those connection points. Some transit agencies have explored cross-dispatching ADA paratransit customers onto their microtransit service as a way to improve the productivity of both services. Interestingly, it is these various reasons and settings which inform the type of microtransit service model that makes sense for the transit agency, such as: • a directly operated service vs. contracted service vs. TNC- or taxi-based approach • many-to-many service vs. many-to-few (or -one) service (such as a first-mile/last-mile solution) • curb-to-curb service vs. virtual stops vs. agency-designated bus stops • on-demand only vs. also allowing advance reservation policies. Based on its research on microtransit services in Texas and throughout the US, TTI will present lessons learned relative to matching microtransit service models and technology to the particular settings, agency goals, and customer circumstances. In addition, TTI will present and discuss the performance metrics most suited to the various types of microtransit for evaluation purposes, including consideration of non-traditional transit performance measures. Presenters will be Will Rodman and Todd Hansen from TTI. Download Abstract |
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