Abstract:MTA Bus Time is an Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) system utilizing Global Positioning Systems (GPS) hardware and wireless communications technology to track real-time location of New York City buses. This paper describes the challenges and coordination required in developing a Bus Time data based analysis system to replace traffic surveyor-based manual data collection. This work […]
Abstract:A recurring challenge that faces transit managers today is the persistent question of how to do more with less: to maintain and to improve service despite deficits of historic proportions. New York City Transit (NYCT) responded by retooling performance measurement frameworks and procedures to capture the customer’s perspective better, to respond to management initiatives, and […]
Abstract:An observational sampling methodology was used to explore seat occupancy patterns in New York City subway cars. The study was performed under uncrowded conditions on the basis of special attributes of what otherwise were highly homogeneous plastic bench seats. Onboard seating patterns, measured as relative seat occupancy probabilities, were explained in terms of interactions between […]
Abstract:In a recession, transit agencies aim to provide key services while retaining national core values. When making service changes, federal funding recipients are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin and must not place undue burden on Environmental Justice (EJ) populations. To ensure compliance, New York City Transit developed analytical […]
Abstract:This paper describes a strategic business case for weekday exception scheduling in urban transit services, specifically, treating Fridays differently from other weekdays. As commuters trend toward more flexible work scheduling, telecommuting arrangements, and 4 1/2-day weeks, gaps between midweek and Friday ridership volumes have widened. Exception schedules neither were nor are unusual; transit operators ran […]
Abstract:New York City Transit (NYCT) has a comprehensive framework for assessing, managing, and combating subway fare evasion. The automated fare collection system, implemented between 1994 and 1997, features lessons learned from field trials of prototypes specifically designed to limit fare abuse. Subway crime has decreased 68% since 2000, and the annual average subway evasion rate […]
Abstract:New York City Transit (NYCT) implemented an automated algorithm to estimate daily bus unlinked trips, infer passenger miles, and compute average trip lengths by route with the use of transaction data from an entry-only automated fare collection (AFC) system. Total onboard miles are inferred from symmetries in bus passengers’ daily activity patterns. NYCT’s algorithm uses […]
Abstract:This paper offers a review of ideas and practices making Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) unique and distinctively different to North American commuter railroads, based on two weeks’ field observation, published sources, authors’ cultural knowledge, and discussions with locals. Unlike most transit systems, TRA accommodates different trip purposes and train types on shared railway infrastructure, covering […]
Abstract:New York City Transit (NYCT) and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have integrated race and income equity considerations into their extensive public outreach processes for fare changes. Responding to FTA civil rights, Title VI, and environmental justice requirements, NYCT developed two quantitative and analytical approaches for fore-casting equity impacts of fare restructuring decisions, in place of […]
Abstract:Federal civil rights and environmental justice (EJ) mandates require transit agencies to provide service without racial or income discrimination and to ensure meaningful access by individuals with limited English proficiency. EJ research generally focuses on long-range planning and capital investment decision making. However, for operating agencies, equity in scheduling, service planning, and tactical service delivery […]
Abstract:Detailed comparative analyses of New York City subways and four Southeast Asian transit systems revealed that Hong Kong’s subways are profitable because of high asset productivity resulting from a strategic “prudent commercial” design for high utilization and traffic density. Hong Kong subways also have a land-grant financing framework, a relatively high degree of commercial freedom, […]
Abstract:Developments in the ownership and control of railroads affect commuter rail. Vertical integration and open access are widely seen as mutually exclusive options for rail reform. North American railroads were relieved of passenger service obligations and granted commercial freedom to improve profitability—all within the vertically integrated tradition. In Europe, infrastructure separation aims to encourage competition […]
Abstract:All U.S. transit agencies receiving FTA Urbanized Area Formula Program funding under Section 5307 (Section 15) report service consumption statistics (revenue passenger miles and unlinked trips) to the National Transit Database. Passenger miles is an incentive-based funding element that generates millions of dollars annually for New York City Transit (NYCT). Originally, Section 15 random sample […]
Abstract:For all organizations, public or private, it is essential to establish measurements to ensure that the services provided are being done well and, when they are not, that the organization can diagnose problems. The mission of New York City Transit (NYCT) is to provide timely and reliable mass transit to more than 7 million daily […]
Abstract:The Passenger Environment Survey (PES) conducted by New York City Transit (NYCT) of the Metropolitan Transit Authority uses a quantitative and scientific approach to measure the perceptions of NYCT’s 7.3 million daily riders. With 6,485 subway cars, 4,576 buses, and 468 stations in a 321-mi² service area and a population of more than 8 million, […]
Abstract:It is a challenge to develop a business model of commingled operations of freight and non-FRA-compliant passenger rail services because there are no domestic cases of such operations and the number of cases in which freight and light rail transit (LRT) equipment share tracks on a temporal basis of separation is limited. Greater opportunities for […]
