Projecting ridership for a new transit service requires market research to establish the probable level of demand and the proper fare and service frequency. To assess the market for proposed bus services in northern virginia, a survey was conducted of all households in the proposed service areas. Questions asked on the survey were designed to permit analysis using a screening process to determine if the respondent was a probable transit user. The screening was based on work trip characteristics (e.g., work hours, work place, proximityto metrorail) and worker characteristics (e.g., need to pick up or drop off children). For the one bus service initiated since completion of the analysis ridership is quite close to that obtained from the screening process. This paper appeared in transportation research record no. 1144, transit management, marketing, and performance. Forcovering abstract see irrd no 818469.
Abstract