THE XENIA, OHIO MODEL TRANSIT SERVICE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT: TRANSIT AND PARATRANSIT SERVICES FOR A SMALL URBAN AREA

The project began regular operations in July 1974 as an emergency fixed-route transit system, instituted with funding from the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration in April 1974, after Xenia was struck by a tornado. The system evolved in stages from the original relief measure of a free-fare fixed-route bus system, to a flat-fare fixed-route system, a jitney system, dial-a-ride servicle, and culminated in a mix of differentially-priced paratransit services operated with taxi vehicles. The system was operated by a public agency (phase one) and later by a private contractor (phase two). The demonstration served as a test of several alternative transit services operated in a small city setting. Several fare structure alternatives were also implemented and provided data for the analysis of the impact of fare changes on ridership. Additional issues considered in the evaluation are the impacts of transit services on the pattern and the rate of city redevelopment, the effect on competing private taxi services, and the relative merits of private and public operations of transit services.