How Transit Routes and Schedules Get Planned
From the gathering of initial data such as bus ridership, population and density change, and new developments to the on going ridership of transit trip times and ridership, transit planning is a fascinating but complicated field. In this category you will learn how we decide where routes should go, where bus stops should be placed, how often the routes should operate, how schedules are written and bus driver runs assigned, and how we reduce service when economic conditions force us to do so.
How Do Bus Routes and Schedules Get Planned?
This article provides an overview of how bus routes and schedules get planned. It includes discussion of the following: long range planning, grant applications, and short-range route and schedule planning.
The Three Sources of Transit Planning Information
The article describes, in my opinion, the three sources of transit planning information.
How Bus Routes and Schedules Get Planned Part I: Placement of Bus Route (Page...
This article describes the steps to follow in determining the initial placement of a new bus route.
Overview of the Bus Rapid Transit versus light rail debate
This article provides an overview of the debate between whether light rail or bus rapid transit will/should be built in a particular corridor.
How Bus Routes and Schedules Get Planned Part II: Placement of Bus Stops
Part II of the series "How Bus Routes and Schedules Get Planned." This installment describes best practices and suggestions for initial bus stop placement.
Designing Bus Routes and Schedules Part III: Determination of Times for the Bus
This installment describes how times for the bus are calculated, and how time points are determined.
Designing Bus Routes and Schedules Part IV: Writing the Bus Schedule
The fourth part of the series in which I describe how bus routes and schedules get designed.
Designing Bus Routes and Schedules Part V: Blocking, Run Cutting, and Rostering
The fifth in a series of five articles giving a brief overview of how bus routes and schedules get designed.
A Common Scheduling Problem
This article describes a common bus scheduling problem and four ways in which it can be resolved.
Service Cut Strategies
When we cut service should we "spare the key routes" or "spread the pain"? Experience suggests that "sparing the key routes" is the superior strategy.
Operating Special Schedules on Fridays and Holidays
This article advocates for operating special bus schedules on Fridays and holidays.
The Proper Stop Spacing of Rapid Transit Lines
This article examines how closely together subway stations should be, and concludes that 1/2 mile is the optimum stop spacing for subway lines.
Bus Rapid Transit - A Definition
A definition of Bus Rapid Transit
The Value of On-Time Performance
This article describes the value of on-time performance and the relative merits of headway-based operation versus traditional schedule-based operation.
Overview of the National Transit Database (NTD)
This article gives an overview of the federal requirement that transit agencies submit annual data about the number of accidents, crimes, ridership, and passenger miles to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for inclusion in the NTD (National Transit Database). Agencies gather this information either by using automated passenger counting...
Headways and Service Span
This article describes how by expanding headways at night we can expand service span at little or no additional cost.
Three Ways to Improve Public Participation in Public Transit
Transit agencies are often disappointed in the amount of public participation they receive. TCRP Synthesis 89 reviews strategies that transit agencies have used to successfully improve the quantity and quality of public participation, and this article boils it down to three things: identify and connect with your audience, ensure the events are...
Transit Public Hearings: Successes and Failures
This article describes some factors that can make transit public hearings either successes or failures, and finishes up with nine guidelines for successful public hearings.
How Psychology Can Affect Urban Planning - Comments From Jarrett Walker's Course
This article argues that the makeup of Walker's transit network design class - young, healthy, choice riders who work in the public sector of the urban planning profession - explains the near universal decision to avoid any effect suburban transit in favor of robust central city transit, to make people walk a long distance to the nearest bus...
How You Can Design Transit Networks at Home - Comments From Mr. Walker's Course
This article describes the basic makeup of a recent urban planning class taught by Jarrett Walker and how in a simplified format any person can engage in a similar activity, which is an effective way to think more about how public transit can better serve a particular city.
The Importance of Successful Bus-Rail Interfaces
Many transit systems are constructing light and heavy rail lines. But since their reach is necessarily limited, if bus system improvements do not happen concurrently with the rail line opening then the rail line will not be successful. This article describes how to create successful bus-rail interfaces.
Two Ways of Looking at Transit Network Design
Two ways of looking at transit network design are described - the point-to-point system, in which many routes exist that attempt to connect everywhere to everywhere - and the grid system, in which every major street tends to have one route, and routes tend to be straight lines.
Transit 101: The Layover
An article describing an essential aspect of transit, the layover location.
Transit 101: Relief Points
This article describes relief points, the locations along a bus route where drivers shift changes can happen.
Denver RTD Service Development Frequently Asked Questions
In my opinion, the Denver Regional Transit District has one of the most thoughtful ways of planning transit of any system I know. Here is a link to their excellent FAQ about Service Development issues. The FAQ includes information related to both scheduling and planning.
State of Transit Scheduling in Florida
Although a little dated now (the report is dated March 2005), this report gives a nice overview of what transit scheduling is all about, the pros and cons of automated scheduling software, and information about the major scheduling companies along with prices charged to their clients in Florida.
TCRP Report 100
TCRP Report 100, the Transit Capacity and Quality of Service manual, is essential reading for anyone involved in or wishing to learn more about transit planning.
Transit 101: The Load Factor
This article advocates for a new lower load factor standard for low floor transit vehicles.
The Rail vs. Bus Rapid Transit Debate
A blog entry in Planetizen - another excellent resource not referenced elsewhere on this site because it is not exclusive to public transit - referencing the debate between building rail and building bus rapid transit.
World Resources Institute Weighs In on the Debate, and Comes Out In Favor of BRT
In this article, the World Resources Institute analyzed which mode would perform better in a proposed rapid transit route in the suburban Maryland portion of Washington D.C., light rail or bus rapid transit, and comes out in favor of bus rapid transit.
Evaluating New Start Transit Program Performance: Comparing Rail and Bus
In this paper from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, public transport performance in areas which expanded bus service from the mid-1990s to 2003 is compared with public transport performance in areas which expanded rail service during that same time period. Overall, areas that expanded rail service had improved transport performance compared with areas that expanded bus service.
New Rapid Transit Projects: Should We Serve Existing Demand or Generate New?
This article examines whether when we design new rapid transit projects if we should serve existing demand or generate new demand. In other words, it is asking whether rail transit is demand-based or supply-based. Due to the high construction costs of rail and other rapid transit, the article argues that new rapid transit projects should be...
Fixing Existing Service First
This article argues that transit agencies should make sure their existing passengers are served well before attempting to attract new ones, especially with costly rapid transit lines that may end up starving the conventional bus service.
Simplicity in Route Design
This article argues for simplicity in route design as a tool to attract higher patronage to transit.