THE QUALITY OF SERVICE AND TRANSIT USE

A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO ATTEMPT TO DISCOVER WHETHER OR NOT A RELATIONSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN THE QUALITY OF TRANSIT SERVICE AND THE LEVEL OF TRANSIT PATRONAGE. SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF SERVICE ARE CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO THE INDIVIDUAL COMMUTER PREFERENCES. PRINCIPAL FACTORS CONSIDERED WERE THE AGE OF THE VEHICLES USED, THE NUMBER OF ROUTE MILES IN OPERATION, FARES, FREQUENCY OF PEAK HOUR SERVICE, AND THE RATIO OF ROUTE MILES TO STREET MILES. THE SERVICE VARIABLES INDIVIDUALLY FAILED TO EXPLAIN A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THE VARIATION IN TRANSIT PATRONAGE. HOWEVER, THE EXPERIENCE IN PEORIA, ILLINOIS, AND MANSFIELD OHIO, SUGGESTS THAT WHILE INDIVIDUAL SERVICE VARIABLES DO NOT APPRECIABLY AFFECT TRANSIT PATRONAGE, COLLECTIVELY THEY DO. IN THOSE CITIES THE ENTIRE TRANSIT SYSTEM WAS OVERHAULED. AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO CHANGE THE BASIC IMAGE OF TRANSIT FROM A DRAB NECESSITY TO AN ATTRACTIVE MEANS OF TRAVEL. VEHICLES WERE EITHER RECONDITIONED OR REPLACED, ROUTES WERE MADE MORE FLEXIBLE, SEATING GUARANTEED, AND FARE COLLECTIONS MADE MORE CONVENIENT. RIDERSHIP IN PEORIA ROSE 53 PERCENT. NEW RIDERS WERE FOUND TO HAVE A FIFTY PERCENT HIGHER LEVEL OF AUTOMOBILE OWNERSHIP AND A 20 PERCENT MORE INCOME THAN THE INITIAL GROUP OF TRANSIT PATRONS. MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED. ACTING TOGETHER, THE INDIVIDUAL TRANSIT SERVICE VARIABLES EXPLAINED ABOUT 72 PERCENT OF THE VARIANCE IN TRANSIT USE.