Explore Live NextBus Implementation
We now have more than 50 North American transit systems using real-time reporting on 100s of routes. Please begin with a virtual visit to the new NextBus installation at MIT in Cambridge, MA--and from there to all of our live installations. Click here to begin your exploration.
Dec
17
Your Riders Will Save a Bundle on Public Transit
Filed Under Feature Stories, Municipal Transit, Research, Transit Trends, Transportation Trends | Leave a Comment
And, They Can Prove it to Themselves!
Riders can save enough to pay for their annual food budget–and then some!
Figures from APTA and a helpful calculator prove that public transit is still a bargain even with a late 2008 drop in fuel prices.
Even though the price of gas has continued to drop public transportation riders still enjoy a significant economic savings. A person can achieve an average annual savings of $8,416 per year by taking public transportation instead of driving, based on today’s gas prices and the average unreserved parking rate, according to the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) “Transit Savings Report.” The report is a monthly analysis that shows the average annual savings represents almost a third more than the average amount a household pays for food in a year, according to the Food Institute ($6,111).
Public Transit K.O.’s Cars with Killer Cost Savings According to APTA
| City | Monthly Savings | Annual Savings |
| New York | $1,041 | $12,492 |
| Boston | $1,033 | $12,396 |
| San Francisco | $948 | $11,376 |
| Chicago | $865 | $10,380 |
| Philadelphia | $860 | $10,320 |
| Honolulu | $846 | $10,152 |
| Seattle | $844 | $10,128 |
| Washington, DC | $794 | $9,528 |
| Minneapolis | $758 | $9,096 |
Your citizens can calculate their own savings with this great tool.
To get a more precise idea of how much money commuter would save by swapping their car for your bus or rail system, click on this link to the PublicTransit.org Calculator. The image to the left shows a San Francisco Bay area commute with gas at $2/gallon. In this hypothetical scenario, the commuter saves $5645/year vs. traveling by car. Even this commuter decides to go from a 2 car to a single car household, another $11,000 in savings ensue.
Aug
18
NextBus Research Results Flag Top Transit Concerns & Technologies
Filed Under AVL Systems, Best Practices, Municipal Transit, Research, Transit Trends, Transportation Trends | Leave a Comment
We have just completed a research study among municipal transit executives designed to determine key trends and technologies as of August 2008. The study covers a broad range of transit systems from very large to very small.
Here are key findings:
- 37% have seen more than a 10% increase in ridership over the past six months
- 32% operate more than 100 transit vehicles
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68% carry more than one million passengers annually
- Only 4% have seen any decrease in ridership
- 34% are outsourcing transit operations
- 38% have more than 25 bus routes
- 53% have 250 or more bus stops
Jul
11
What’s Better? A Large Fleet of Small Buses or a Small Fleet of Large Buses?
Filed Under Best Practices, Feature Stories, Research, Transit Trends, University Transit | Leave a Comment
In February 2008, a most useful research tool appeared on the transit management scene. But what was merely useful in February may be a vital tool today in the face of a 33% increase in the price of fuel from February to June 2008.
The National Center for Transit Research at the University of South Florida has provided a decision support tool to help fleet owners decide on the best mix of large versus small buses. The Center includes both an extensive report on its methodology and a sophisticated spreadsheet which enables fleet managers to model multiple variations of fleet sizes and types.
One obvious element in the report stands out: The advantage in per mile fuel cost that small buses have over large buses. Back in February, per mile fuel costs were significantly less than parts and labor.
Today, thanks to the spike in gas and diesel prices, the per mile fuel costs for large buses is almost as high as maintenance charges.
The ability of this decision support tool to help transit managers evaluate fleet composition becomes all that more important as fuel costs look to meet or exceed maintenance costs on large buses in particular.
Clearly, implementing effective transit management systems which maximize ridership and minimize mileage will be critical to accommodate increasing demand for transit services to university communities.
To get a complete copy of the report and the decision support tool,click here.
Jun
3
Top Transit Issues and Technologies: NextBus Shares Survey Results from 75 Top Universities
Filed Under Feature Stories, Research, University Transit | Leave a Comment
If you’ve ever wondered how your transit services stack up to those across the country, this article is for you. NextBus surveyed 75 U.S. universities and you may find the results surprising!
The majority of respondents believe that university transit systems improve the quality of university life and contribute to the safety of students, faculty, and staff. They are using a wide range of technology to improve their ability to serve their communities.
Read on to learn more about the respondent profile in the top eight issues that concern transportation professionals within university communities.
8 Biggest University Transit Issues
- to improve the quality of university life
- to run an efficient OnTime system
- to maximize student, faculty, and staff safety
- to ensure regulatory compliance
- to promote environmentally friendly transportation alternatives
- to provide a highly predictable route system
- to gather highly accurate ridership and other operations performance data
- to reduce costs without compromising service quality
Top Technologies Used
| Automatic vehicle location systems | 46% |
| On-board video and audio recording | 38% |
| Automatic passenger counters (infrared, break-beam, etc.) | 35% |
| Operations planning with geographical information systems (geo-coded data) | 31% |
| Real-time traveler information systems | 27% |
| Automatic visual passenger stop announcing systems | 23% |
| Computer aided dispatch | 23% |
| Automatic audible passenger stop announcing systems | 19% |
| Transit management software | 19% |
| Mobile data terminals | 12% |
| Smart-card transit media | 12% |
| Traffic signal priority | 12% |
Respondent Profile:
Type of School Responding
Public 80%
Private/Other 20%
Number of Full-Time Students
20,000 + 44%
10,000-19,999 31%
2,500-9,999 22%
<2,500 2%
Percent Offering Mass Transit
72%
Number of Vehicles
50+ 13%
25-49 22%
10-24 39%
<10 26%
Annual Passenger Load
5 million+ 8%
1-4.9 million 40%
100,000-999,999 36%
<100,000 16%
To find out more about transit management practices at top universities, click here for the full report.
NextBus currently operates in 20 U.S. states and is rapidly expanding. For more information on bringing Next Bus to your location, contact NAME LINK.