This paper was presented at the `Your car won't get you to Kyoto : urban transportation in the next century' session. In October of 1994, the City of Boulder started a new type of fixed-route transit service: the HOP. The HOP is a core area shuttle system that carries over one million passenger trips per year. The distinctive vehicles, frequent service, direct route and other key features have drawn record ridership from previously untapped markets. In August 1997, the City of Boulder and the Regional Transportation District (RTD) jointly introduced another new transit service called the SKIP. Using the same basic route as the former Route 202, the City and RTD replaced the traditional 40-foot vehicles with a fleet of fifteen small green buses. Peak hour frequency that was every fifteen minutes is now every six minutes. SKIP night time service hours extend to midnight, whereas the previous service ended at 10:30p.m. As a result of these service changes, SKIP ridership skyrocketed. The City of Boulder and the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the transit agency servicing the six-county area in and around Denver, have discovered a transit formula that has increased ridership overnight. It is a formula that incorporates five fundamental elements; community-based design (Market Research), (Re)Design service to improve the product, Market the service selling new product features, Measure the results, Do it again, Complacency not allowed. The synergy of these elements, packaged into a full-service approach, has generated this remarkable ridership increase. This paper will outline the dynamics of the partnership that solidified this full-package formula and the five elements that are leading to its success. (A)
Abstract