UMTA'S INTEREST IN THE WORKSHOP

UMTA faces a dilemma over what to do about small buses. Brock Adams, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, has mandated full accessibility for city coaches ordered after September 30, 1979. The mandate was silent both on the small bus and on the articulated buses used for public transportation. Articulated buses have been absent from the American scene for many years; now, they are returning. Small buses have not captured a great segment of the market--only about 5 percent. Nevertheless, their market share is increasing, as is demand for them. It is very possible that the economic forces that determine transit vehicle choices will push a greater market share toward the small bus and perhaps toward the articulated bus. The reason why is fairly simple. Articulated buses can achieve larger productivity per driver-hour than the usual city coaches, and they are an ideal vehicle for the long-haul, line-haul, express type of service. Small buses are on the opposite end of the spectrum; they seem to be ideal for use in all kinds of services in which the demand does not justify the use of larger buses--in off-peak hours and certainly in downtown circulation and distribution. (Author)