This paper describes and compares five exemplary services: two are main-line services (Seattle, Washington, and Champaign, Illinois), and three areparatransit services (Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and Lancaster, Pennsylvania). These services were chosen for study for three basic reasons, because they: (1) are of interest to other localities because they have had relatively high ridership and good reliability; (2) represent very different demand and operating environments; and (3) have been monitored quite carefully during their implementation by the Urban Mass Transit Administration (UMTA). As a result, it has been possible to develop consistent measures of benefits and costs using standardized methods and assumptions. The paper begins with a description of the distinguishing characteristics of each of the five services and then compares them in terms of costs, benefits, and service levels.
Samenvatting