Out-of-vehicle experience

Background

Certain low cost strategies, such as real-time arrival and routing information, attractive waiting areas, universal fare media, marketing/perception influence, and other low-cost measures can cost-effectively increase ridership by improving the transit experience.

Introduction

The out-of-vehicle waiting experience plays a critical role in an individual’s willingness to use transit for their traveling needs. A pleasant walk to and wait at a transit stop can add value to the transit experience, while time spent in a dirty, loud or unsafe environment is perceived to be much more costly that time spent in-vehicle (source)

Strategies

Real-time arrival and routing information

• Reduces anxiety about when the next bus will come
• Allows more accurate trip planning, so less time has to be spent at the actual stop
• National Center for Transit Research at the Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida. “Enhancing the Rider Experience: The Impact of Real-Time Information On Transit Ridership.” 2005.

Attractive and more secure waiting areas

• Studies suggest that time spent waiting for a transit vehicle is considered more costly by the patron than in-vehicle time; however, this can be mitigated by improvements to the waiting area, i.e. good lighting, protection from the elements and a comfortable place to sit.
• “Effects of Pedestrian Improvements on Transit Ridership and Customer Satisfaction” http://rns.trb.org/dproject.asp?n=27843

Improvement to the quality of pedestrian network

• Virtually all transit riders are pedestrians at some point in their trip. So the quality of the pedestrian network -- principally sidewalks and safe road crossings -- strongly influences the ability of travelers to access transit stops and then their willingness to use transit. Factors include the very existence of sidewalks, their connectivity in a useful network, and whether or not residents feel safe using them.
• Sherry Ryan and Lawrence Frank. "Pedestrian Environments and Transit Ridership." 2009.
• “Pedestrian Infrastructure Improvements: Effects on Transit Use and Perceptions of the Pedestrian Environment In Portland’s Roseway Neighborhood“ http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:iz1tYaLid-0J:pdx.edu/sites/www.pdx.edu.cus/files/PR119.pdf+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a