EFFECTIVE TRANSIT POLICY-MAKING AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

This paper reviews the role of Transit Authority Boards in the urban transportation planning process. The Transit Authority Board is seen as having two major responsibilities: (1) it serves as the focal point of citizen input to the urban public transportation planning process; and (2) it is responsible for seeing that an adequate level of public transportation service is provided to the community. The various steps involved in making policy decisions in order to fulfill these responsibilities are discussed. It is emphasized that care must be taken to develop means of evaluating various combinations of public transportation instead of simply developing measures to justify current activities and vested interests. The Knoxville Transit Authority's efforts to solve the problems they have encountered are cited as an example of the need for evaluation measures that will help determine whether an adequate level of transportation service is being provided to the community and whether the service is being provided in the most effective way.