This paper briefly describes the UMTA transit project planning process and outlines the role that operations planning plays in alternatives analyses (AAs) conducted under the Urban Mass Transportation Administration's (UMTA's) Urban Mass Transportation Major Capital Investment Policy. Operations planning provides input essential for defining alternatives, patronage forecasting, operations and maintenance cost estimating, capital-cost estimating, and environmental impact assessments. Despite its critical role, operations planning is given little attention in UMTA's latest guidance of alternatives analyses -- "procedures and technical methods for transit project planning." A discussion of operations planning issues often encountered during the AA is provided, and a three-step operations planning process for transit corridor alternatives analyses is described. A discussion on the role that computer models can play in operations planning concludes the paper.
Samenvatting