Transit providers need to hear directly from their users how everyday transit service can better address their needs. Transittopics is a program undertaken over the past 3 years by the city of boston's transportation department. The department sponsors neighborhood workshops to enable residents to discuss transit service issues. Comments and recommendations made by workshop participants are consolidated in a report and distributed to the public and boston's regional transit agency, the massachusetts bay transportation authority (mbta). The workshops have served as a forum for residents to discuss their concerns, and this has provided insight into transit service problems, along with recommendations for areawide and neighborhood-specific improvements. Suggestions have included bus route alterations to serve identified needs and new bus shelter locations. Key findings are that citizens very much appreciate speaking directly with public officials and will respond constructively in a structured setting. In addition, beyond giving credit for positive service changes, they offer a wealth of observations and opinions about transit and workable solutions to address specific problems. The program has also provided a strengthened working relationship between the city and the mbta. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1297, Public transit research: management and planning 1991 .
Samenvatting