Out-of-vehicle experience

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Revision as of 22:27, 13 February 2012 by Crubin (talk | contribs)
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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
    • “Enhancing the Rider Experience: The Impact of Real-Time Information On Transit Ridership” www.nctr.usf.edu/pdf/576-15.pdf
  • 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
  • Universal fare media
  • Marketing