A Methodology to Determine the Economically Feasible Capacity for Rural Demand Response Transit Systems

Abstract

Transportation professionals generally use volume-to-capacity ratios as a standard measure of effectiveness to evaluate the operation of transportation facilities. Unfortunately, this commonly used measure has not been available for the analysis of rural demand response transit systems, as there has not been a clearly defìned methodology for determining the capacity of these systems. This article presents a methodology for determining the capacity of a rural demand response transit system using an economic constraint model and spatial data for the service area stored in a Geographic Information System (GIS). The methodology develops an equation that incorporates operating costs, transit need, route distance, and revenue to define an agency s potential service area, or capacity. To demonstrate the methodology, the article presents a case study for a transit agency in Northwest Alabama. The article concludes that the methodology presented can be applied to determine the economically feasible service area for a rural demand response transit system, thus allowing for development and use of volume-to-capacity ratios as a consistent measure of effectiveness to evaluate an agency’s operation.