PLANNING GUIDELINES FOR SUBURBAN TRANSIT SERVICES. FINAL REPORT

Urban and suburban development patterns in Texas cities are characterized by a high degree of spatial dispersion. The relative locations of work and other activity centers and of residences result in travel patterns which are difficult to serve using conventional public transportation services. Innvative service concepts and approaches to route design and service planning are necessary to efficiently serve the large fraction of non-CBD oriented trips and still provide good service quality. The focal point of this study was to develop a set of general guidelines or procedures to assist transit service planners in planning, designing and implementing route and service changes to capture a larger share of the regional travel market. This report presents techniques which may be used to identify suburban travel patterns, alternative routing structures, and methods of evaluating the alternative service options.