This report provides guidance to public transportation managers and other professionals in the selection of technology that is appropriate for the needs, size, and type of their operations. Though the focus is on rural and small urban operations, study findings also have some application to larger urban transit operations. The guidebook can be useful in the procurement of technologies, such as off-the-shelf (OTS) computer software, as well as systems, such as automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems. The companion document to the guidebookis a report that focuses on the Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS) applications implemented at small urban and rural transit operations and includes both advanced and basic technologies. The principal guidance tool is a taxonomy - a series of tables that provide important "technology-screening" information to transit professionals based on the characteristics of their transit systems that are most important in determining technology efficacy. The report also presents the basis for the taxonomy including: information gathered during six case-study site visits, an examination of the current status of ongoing APTS sites, measures used to evaluate the effectiveness of APTS technologies, and APTS financing issues. (A)
Samenvatting