NTL Record

Title Evaluation of the Denver RTD Route Restructuring Project
Record ID 48771
Personal Name
Creator
Donnelly, Robert M.; Ong, Paul M.
Personal Name
Contributor
Gaudette, John; Spear, Bruce; Swan, Sherrill; Knight, Bob; Colman, Steven; Stone, Tom; Connor, Dave; Shunk, Gordon
Source 234p. in various pagings
Corporate Creator De Leuw, Cather & Company
Corporate
Contributor
John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.); United States. Department of Transportation. Research and Special Programs Administration. Transportation Systems Center; United States. Department of Transportation. Urban Mass Transportation Administration. Office of Service and Methods Demonstration
Publisher United States. Department of Transportation. Urban Mass Transportation Administration
Publication Date 19810701
Language English
Abstract In February 1978, the Denver RTD eliminated the 25 cent off-peak fare and retained a 50 cent peak hour fare for bus boardings during the morning (2 hours) and evening (2 hours) rush hours. The experiment in innovative transit pricing continued for one year as a federally assisted demonstration project to determine the effects of free off-peak transit in a major urban area. During the demonstration RTD also undertook a complete transformation of its network of bus routes and schedules. Following two years of planning, on September 10, 1978 RTD accomplished restructuring its transit services from a network of mostly historic radial routes serving the CBD to one more closely conforming to a grid system. This report summarizes the evaluation of the route restructuring project in Denver with respect to the implementation requirements of a major redesign of fixed route transit services and its effects on 1) travel behavior 2) bus operations, quality of service, costs and revenues; and 3) secondary effects on the environment and public support for transit services and improvements. The extensive data collection activities conducted by RTD as part of the demonstration, including transit operations monitoring, surveys of transit users on-board and follow-up telephone, and general population surveys are documented and their results analyzed. Principal findings of the evaluation are reported and their implications for transit operations and service planning discussed. Both the short term effects of implementing major changes in existing transit service, as well as the long term supply and demand characteristic of the grid concept applied to transit operations in Denver are addressed. Evaluation of the off-peak free fare experiment is provided in an earlier report of this project.
Rosap ID dot:10268
Rosap URL https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/10268
TRT Terms Bus transit; Transportation planning; Travel behavior; Fixed routes; Free fares; Level of service; Demonstration projects; Data collection; Networks; Off peak periods; Routing; Surveys; Revenues; Ridership; Drivers
Classification NTL - ECONOMICS AND FINANCE - ECONOMICS AND FINANCE;
NTL - ECONOMICS AND FINANCE - Transit Economics and Finance;
NTL - PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION - Transit Economics and Finances;
NTL - PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION - PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Geographical
Coverage
Denver (Colorado)
TRIS Online
Accession No
00346135
Contract Number DOT-1409-15
Report Number DOT-TSC-UMTA-81-45; UMTA-CO-06-0010-80-1
Resource type Tech Report
URL https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/48000/48700/48771/DOT-TSC-UMTA-81-45.pdf
Format PDF
Database NTL Digital Repository