Survey Of Riders Research Articles

Demographic Breakdown of Transit Rider Satisfaction

With ridership declining nationally and transit agencies looking for innovative ways to maintain and attract riders, a more complex understanding of transit riders and their satisfaction could provide additional insight and guidance to benefit the future of transit. This study challenged the traditional captive versus choice rider dichotomy and indicates the need for a more nuanced breakdown of transit riders based on the attributes most important to them. To conduct the analysis, the authors obtained rider survey data from nine agencies across the United States from varying geographic regions and representing various agency sizes. Agencies were selected based on their intentional use of demographic classifications and questions about satisfaction with various aspects of transit service. The authors then applied ordered logit regression across the 18,544 rider survey responses to predict the relative importance of service attributes on overall satisfaction. The findings suggested that different classifications of riders by gender, race, and income yielded diverse priorities, although certain service aspects such as reliability were important across demographics. In addition to the findings from the regression analysis, this study also offers a series of recommendations to facilitate future investigations by using more consistent, standardized data to further the breadth and depth of national transit rider analyses.

Engaging Transit Riders in Public Awareness Programs

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the transit industry emerged as a leader in leveraging the value and power of the public’s “eyes and ears” to promote system security. Although a public awareness program is widely viewed as a core component of a transit agency’s system security plan, efforts to assess whether the messages are reaching transit riders and to identify obstacles to participation have been limited. This paper highlights strategies and tactics to engage transit riders in public security awareness programs based on interviews with transit agency representatives, the analysis of transit rider survey data, and transit rider focus groups.

Impacts of New Light Rail Transit Service on Riders’ Residential Relocation Decisions

Using the rider survey data collected from Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit System in New Jersey, this paper investigated the residential relocating decisions of the riders who have been riding the LRT for a period of time. Using the Heckman’s sample selection model, the paper extends the current mobility literature by describing not only a rider’s likelihood to move as a result of the new LRT service but also the movers’ orientation toward their residence distances to LRT stations. Information on the socio-economic characteristics of the movers and their residence distances to LRT stations would help planners and developers identify areas where housing growth associated with specific characteristics of the riders will occur, and plan for these areas to provide affordable housing and amenities for relocating residents.

Equity and exclusion issues in cashless fare payment systems for public transportation

Many transit agencies in the United States plan to automate their fare collection and limit–or even eliminate–the use of cash fares, with the goals of expediting boarding, collecting data, and lowering costs. Yet about 10% of US adults lack a bank account or credit card, and many rely on restrictive cellphone data plans or do not have access to the internet or a smartphone. These riders will find it difficult to access transit in the future. This paper examines transit users’ experiences with fare technologies using a survey of riders in three cities. Our analysis reveals which riders are most at risk of being excluded, and how mitigation strategies could work to overcome barriers to cash-less transit. We find that a significant number of riders (∼30%) currently use cash on-board buses. If on-board cash fares were to be removed, a significant share of these riders appear able to switch to other options, though many imagine they will continue to use cash in some way (e.g. at retail or ticket vending machines); a small number claim they would no longer be able to ride transit if on-board cash fares were removed. Older and lower-income riders are more at risk of exclusion as they often lack access to smartphones or the internet. A significant number rely on less dependable internet sources, such as public Wi-Fi, potentially inhibiting some from using smartphone and internet-based payment systems. Findings suggest approaches to reduce the number of riders excluded from transit during fare technology adoption.

Using three-factor theory to identify improvement priorities for express and local bus services: An application of regression with dummy variables in the Twin Cities

To overcome the limitations of importance-performance analysis, this study employs the three-factor theory to identify transit service attributes that critically impact overall satisfaction of express and local bus riders. Specifically, Using the 2014 Transit Rider Survey in the Twin Cities, we examine how the performance of service attributes rewards and penalizes riders’ overall satisfaction with express and local buses, and classify these attributes into three factors based on their respective contributions to overall satisfaction. We then integrate the factor structure with their average performances to identify improvement priorities. We found that both the importance of service attributes to the overall satisfaction and the improvement priorities differ between express and local buses. Among the tested attributes, “vehicles are comfortable”, “total travel time is reasonable”, and “reliability” should be addressed first for both local and express buses.

Use characteristics and demographics of rural transit riders: a case study in Tennessee

ABSTRACTIntercity bus (ICB), deviated fixed route transit (DFRT) and demand responsive transit (DRT) are three major modes of rural public transportation. This paper focuses on the characteristics and motivations of DFRT and DRT riders, compared to non-riders, in Tennessee. A rural DFRT rider survey, a rural DRT rider survey and a rural (non-rider) resident survey were performed. It is found that DFRT and DRT riders have similar demographics to ICB riders. The most common trip purpose for DFRT and DRT passengers is medical care, which is different from ICB trips. Ninety percent of the riders have difficulty finding alternative transportation modes, suggesting they are captive riders, not choice riders. Regression results indicate that people choosing transit modes tend to have lower personal and household income, own fewer cars, to not be homeowners, and be of non-white race. Rural residents who receive more education are more likely to be open-minded to use rural transit.

Social Transit as Mass Transit in Australian Suburban Greenfield Development

The operation of public transport service in suburban developments, particularly new greenfield developments, can face considerable challenges. Suburban developments are often served primarily through bus transit, which struggles to balance a mass transit function against a social transit (e.g., local service) function. As a result, many suburban neighborhoods are served by infrequent, indirect services that appeal only to a captive transit ridership. This study explored the impact of a new bus service on a new development on the fringe of Melbourne, Australia: Selandra Rise in Clyde North. Three years after the development opened, a bus service was introduced to connect the development to the nearest town center and train station. Unlike many of the surrounding services, this bus service was deliberately planned to serve a mass transit function with direct, frequent service and relatively poor penetration into the suburb but high frequency. Two surveys were conducted to explore the use and the impact of the new bus service: a survey of Selandra Rise residents (including those who did not use the bus) and an on-bus survey of riders. The surveys showed that the bus serves a hybrid function as both mass transit and social transit. The implications of these findings for the planning of transit to new housing developments are discussed.

Demographics and Personality Factors of Participants in the MSF 100 Motorcyclist Naturalistic Study

This paper describes a 100-rider naturalistic motorcycle study in terms of participant demographics, riding preferences, and behaviors collected through five questionnaires (NEO-FFI-3, Dula Dangerous Driving Index, Frequency of Risky Behavior, Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale–IV, and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Rider Survey). The analysis of the questionnaire data is divided into three bike Types (Touring, Cruiser, Sport). The results indicate that self-reported mileage traveled was highest among Touring bike riders, followed by Sport riders, then Cruiser riders. Differences in Personality factors between Motorcycle Types was generally not found, with the exception of lower levels of Neuroticism in riders of the Touring bikes compared to riders of Cruisers and Sport. The survey based measures indicate that the participant sample does include some measurable heterogeneity in neuroticism scores purely based on questionnaires.

The Feeding Practices and Estimated Workload in a Cohort of New Zealand Competition Horses

Data on the feeding, management, and training schedules during the week before the competition were collected via a face-to-face survey of riders competing in dressage, show jumping, or eventing at 1* and 3* level competitions. Data were collected using a pro forma recording sheet, and measurements of horse height, weight, and body condition score (BCS) were also obtained. A total of 158 of 582 riders (and horses) were surveyed, providing a response rate of 27%. The mean height, weight, and median BCS of the horses were 162 ± 1 cm, 533 ± 5 kg, and 6 (interquartile range [IQR], 5–7), respectively. The majority of horses were at pasture, most (68%, 107 of 158) 24 hr/d and fed supplementary feed either once (42%, 67 of 158) or twice daily (54%, 86 of 158). The supplementary feed was predominately a commercial premix feed (90%, 142 of 157) with additional alfalfa chaff or ensiled chopped alfalfa. The horses were offered approximately 60 MJ digestible energy (DE)/d (33–86 MJ DE/d) from supplementary feed. The horses worked for a median of 6 d/wk (IQR, 5–6 d/wk) with one rest day. The median total time trained during the week was 200 minutes (135–265 minutes), which consisted of eight separate training activities. There was no difference in time spent on different activities between the disciplines. Individual training activities were 30–40 minutes, and the median number of competitions per month was 2 (IQR, 2–3). Training workload and pattern of work were similar to reports from other countries, with the exception that many riders regularly added a “hack out” after training.

A retrospective survey of riders' opinions of the use of saddle pads in horses

Abstract Horse riders have used layers between saddles and their horse's back since ancient times. Despite the apparent common usage of such layers, most research regarding pressures under horses' saddles seems to have been conducted without such layers present. An online survey of equestrian riders was conducted to quantify the use of such layers and how the layers behaved during use. This produced 1,011 responses from participants in 16 equestrian activities. More than 98% of respondents reported they used some form of layer between their horse's back and the saddle. Differences in layer usage were associated with the respondent's preferred riding discipline and the wither type of their horse. Compensation for perceived saddle fit problems was commonly cited as a reason for using layers. Although horse comfort was nominated by 87.5% of respondents as a reason for using a layer between saddle and the horse's back, many respondents (45%) reported using more than 1 layer. This often resulted in layers thicker than 1 cm, which paradoxically could compromise horse welfare. Half of the respondents reported that the layer between the saddle and the horse's back slipped during riding. Although some significant risk factors for this slippage were identified, they are deemed not to be definitive because of similar factors being identified by the group who did not report layer slippage. These results suggest that incorrect usage of layer between saddles and horses' backs can sabotage good saddle design and compromise equine welfare. Future research on the layers used between the saddles and horses' back is warranted. The question of whether using thicker layers can create greater pressure under saddles or improve rider–horse communication also needs to be investigated.

Verbal autopsy and global mortality statistics: if not now, then when?

Commentary More than a decade ago, the World Health Organization pointed out the degree to which deficits in the production, sharing, and use of critical health information hampered evidence-based health development in countries with the poorest health status [1]. This “information paradox” in global health came to refer to the predicament in which countries with the greatest need for timely, accurate, and comprehensive health information including on causes of death at the population level have had the least access to it [2,3]. Since that time, some (but not enough) improvements in information systems and technologies have begun to fill voids in our knowledge of population health [4,5]. Throughout this period, however, comparatively little attention has been paid to advancing the science and practice of direct measurement of mortality and its causes particularly among adults [6-11]. In 2000, the state of knowledge on verbal autopsy (VA, a term that covers the design and application of postmortem caregiver interviews, procedures for assigning one or more probable causes of death, and the aggregation and tabulation of population-level mortality statistics based on this data source) centered on a small group of demographers and epidemiologists, many of whom ran intervention trials in various demographic surveillance sites. Almost the entire community of scholarship was on a first-name basis; we could easily gather in a medium-sized conference room, and any of our students or colleagues could become an expert on the VA literature with a week or two of focused reading. Throughout this period, those who remained dedicated to maximizing the potential of VA made steady progress. Yet throughout, a deep and sometimes reflexive scepticism remained that VA could ever really deliver the goods as a reliable measurement tool. The persistent shortcomings in cause of death data, and reluctance to widely embrace VA outside of demographic surveillance sites, have forced the global health community to make do with sources of limited coverage and dubious quality and consistency, applying increasingly complex statistical analyses to “correct” for all manner of bias and nonsampling error. The papers in this issue of Population Health Metrics go far in addressing central questions about how much VA can contribute to our measurement of health and health impact. How close to truth can VA ever get? How good is “good enough” for decision-making? Is our putative “gold standard” of medically certified deaths all that robust to begin with in industrialized or lowerincome countries? Can we make the production of VA data better, faster, and cheaper? What alternatives to demographic surveillance systems exist to permit the collection of mortality data from large, representative population samples? Can VA detect disease outbreaks, the population effects of antiretroviral therapy scale-up, and long-term trends in causes of death? Collectively, this special issue should just about put to rest the conventional wisdom that in the 21st century those living on the margins of the global economy must continue to make do with models and guesstimates about leading causes of death for priority-setting and decision-making. This is not to deny that an important implementation research agenda remains. For example, there is an urgent need to identify optimal platforms, systems, and sample sizes for administration of VA, and to understand if and how VA-based death registration and cause of death statistics might be a stepping stone to increasing the coverage of functioning civil registration and death certification systems. While there have been a few examples of VA being administered on a large scale as an explicit part of the development of national statistics, such as the national causes of death rider survey to the 2007 Mozambique national census [12], they have been one-offs and not widely published. Those who tout the impact of development assistance for health by confidently proclaiming the numbers of Correspondence: philip.setel@gatesfoundation.org Measurement Learning and Evaluation for Global Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PO Box 23350, Seattle, WA 98102, USA Setel Population Health Metrics 2011, 9:20 http://www.pophealthmetrics.com/content/9/1/20

Evolution and Effect of Transportation Policy on Public Transit

The United Nations predicts that half the world's population will live in cities by 2008. Thus, rapid urban sprawl, and especially its traffic congestion, is a global problem. Meeting mobility needs of urban dwellers is critical to sustaining growth and social stability, but many major cities struggle to do so. The evolving situation in Beijing, is examined, and the policy-making process in Beijing is analyzed to understand why transportation problems occur and are intractable and how they can be solved. A structure of policy making is proposed that includes four factors: institutional, travel behavior, ideals, and landmark events. The analysis includes a case study and comparison of transit service in Beijing and other cities, including results from the latest transit level-of-service rider survey in Beijing. It is concluded that an imbalance between transportation supply and demand is the primary cause of traffic congestion. The transportation problem must be solved from two sides: increasing supply and managing demand simultaneously. Public transit, paired with transportation demand management, is an effective approach for sustainable transportation but requires a range of policies.

Effect of Italy’s motorcycle helmet law on traumatic brain injuries

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a revised Italian motorcycle-moped-scooter helmet law on crash brain injuries. Design: A pre-post law evaluation of helmet use and traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurrence...

NJ Transit’s MidTOWN Direct Service: Are Customers Satisfied?

NJ TRANSIT routinely sets service quality goals, monitors them, and uses the results to improve service. To support this business practice, NJ TRANSIT conducts customer satisfaction surveys of rail customers to understand customers’ needs and their level of satisfaction. On June 10, 1996, NJ TRANSIT initiated new rail service on its Morris and Essex rail lines called MidTOWN DIRECT. To assess the regional impacts of this major transit investment and to gain a better understanding of customers’ response to the new service, NJ TRANSIT conducted a survey of riders that included a customer satisfaction component. This study provided an opportunity for NJ TRANSIT to test the impact on customer satisfaction of introducing a new service option in a corridor that had well-established rail service. The study also provided insights into designing customer satisfaction measurement techniques for application during and after the implementation of significant new service offerings. To determine satisfaction levels of customers regarding the new service on the Morris and Essex Lines, and to determine whether the key drivers of satisfaction had changed, several statistical analyses were conducted. Several significant findings resulted from this customer satisfaction study. Several components of the MidTOWN DIRECT rail service required fine-tuning, especially with regard to frequency, on-time performance, and mechanical reliability. Although the satisfaction ratings were lower than initially expected, the availability of key driver satisfaction data can provide fast, targeted direction for service improvements that will pay the greatest dividends with customers.