Intercity Bus Feeder Project Program Analysis

Following the passage of the Bus Regulatory Reform Act of 1982 (BRRA), intercity carriers used their increased regulatory flexibility to discontinue many underutilized rural and small city services. This was understandable, in light of the competitive pressures resulting from the loss of cross-subsidies from charter and tour operations, and the deregulation of the airline industry. However, the loss in service to rural areas, documented in a number of studies, created an awareness of the need to devise a system that would allow rural areas to be connected with the remaining intercity bus service. The Greyhound Rural Connection Program (RCP), together with the Intercity Bus Feeder Project (IBFP) of the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), have been created to design and implement a means of linking existing rural public transportation services with those of the intercity carriers.