OBTAINING BUS TRANSIT SERVICE CONSUMPTION INFORMATION THROUGH SAMPLING PROCEDURES

Evaluation of the effectiveness of bus transit systems is difficult because data on service consumption are inadequate. Passenger miles is the most useful measure but is costly to collect. Passenger revenue is a commonly used index of service consumption, but as fares have little or no relationship with distance travelled, revenue is a weak (albeit the best available) surrogate of service consumption. Various sampling procedures designed to estimate passenger miles for bus transit systems are reviewed. These are evaluated in terms of the operating data which U.S. transit operators are required to report under the Section 15 Uniform System of Accounts and Records Reporting System. Various sampling techniques used by transit operators in Los Angeles County, California are reviewed. Results illustrate how government regulations influence survey research methods and how affected agencies respond to them.(a) for the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 286978.