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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...
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,...
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...
For a major metro system, we performed an observational study of how customers tended to distribute themselves within each vehicle, with a view towards making recommendations about vehicle design (e.g. door, pole, and seat placement), and to reduce station dwell time. The plastic bench seats installed are otherwise...
We were tasked by a major U.S. rapid transit system to determine the true rate of fare evasion at the turnstile, and assess the resulting potential revenue loss. Working in conjunction with a team of internal auditors, we adopted a stratified sampling methodology and developed methods for discreet...
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,...
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...
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...
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,...
One major U.S. transit agency was proposing a significant round of fare restructuring in the face of a structural deficit, and many fare policy options were being considered. Some of these proposed fare structures involved significant increases and expected diversions of current customers between different fare products (e.g....
