WORKSHOP 4: THE OPERATOR'S ROLE

The purpose of Workshop 4, which viewed the evaluation of urban public transportation from the operator's perspective, was to examine the following 5 basic subject areas: the elderly and the handicapped, manpower, hardware and equipment, financial, and marketing and management. This report of the proceedings of Workshop 4 identified the following research projects as being necessary for an adequate evaluation of urban public transportation: (1) planning and design of mass transportation services to meet mobility needs of the elderly and handicapped; (2) study of the merits and problems of combining some transit, school transportation, and goods movement with transit vehicles; (3) evaluation of the purchase of new transit vehicles via the consideration of new-vehicle quality as measured through vehicle maintenance costs; (4) effectiveness of Federal and/or State operating subsidies for urban public transportation; (5) development of effective marketing disciplines for promotion of use of club buses, subscription bus service, special charter group trips, etc.; (6) effect of car pool promotions on transit; (7) evaluation of fare packaging procedures as a tool for inducing transit ridership and reducing the cost associated with the sale and collection of tickets; (8) use of retired and part-time personnel as transit employees; and (9) human resource and development needs for expanding transit services.