SURTC has conducted two rounds of onboard surveys using mobile electronic devices. Droid smartphones and a Samsung Galaxy tablet were used to conduct the surveys. The first round of surveys occurred last winter on routes heavily used by North Dakota State University students. The second round of surveys were conducted on a number of different routes throughout the metro area last spring. These surveys were conducted in conjunction with a rider survey developed by the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments for its transit development plan. Preliminary results from these surveys, including a discussion of experiences with these devices, can be found in the following documents:
Posts Tagged ‘technology’
Webcast Recording for Fargo-Moorhead Transit Development Plan Public Input Meeting Posted
Sep 22, 2011
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SURTC conducted a webcast Sept. 21 during a public input meeting hosted by the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments (MetroCOG). The intent of the meeting was to inform the public and solicit comments regarding the Transit Development Plan. SURTC is investigating the use of tools such as webcasts for increasing public participation in transit planning. In this webcast, SURTC researcher Jeremy Mattson interviewed the consultant regarding the transit plan and recommendations they have developed for improving MATBUS service in Fargo-Moorhead. A recording of the webcast is available at the following link:
SURTC to Conduct Webcast of Public Input Meeting
Sep 20, 2011
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As part of the Transit, Technology, & Public Participation Project, SURTC will test the use of webcasting technology for increasing public participation in transit planning. The Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments (FM MetroCOG) will be hosting a public input meeting all day (8 am to 8 pm) on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at the Ground Transportation Center in Fargo, ND. The purpose of the meeting is to seek public input regarding the 5-year transit development plan for Fargo-Moorhead. The webcast is intended as a tool for individuals who otherwise would not have attended the meeting in person the opportunity to learn about the transit plans being considered and provide input. SURTC is studying the use of tools such as webcasts for increasing public participation in the planning process.
The webcast will take place Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 3:00 pm (Central Time). It will be approximately 30 minutes long and can be viewed at the following link:
Following its completion, a recording of the webcast will be posted that can be viewed at any time.
Presentations from Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation Available Online
Dec 15, 2010
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The Transportation Research Board has released a Final Program for the 19th National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation, held October 24-27, 2010, in Burlington, Vermont. Most of the presentations from this conference are now available online and are linked to within this document. Click here to open the Final Program (pdf), and then click on the presenters names highlighted in blue to view the presentations.
SURTC was heavily involved in this conference. Director Jill Hough served as the Chair of the Conference Planning Committee, and researchers David Ripplinger, Del Peterson, and Jeremy Mattson gave presentations and moderated sessions. The following are links to the presentations (pdf documents) given by SURTC staff:
- Ride or Relocate, presented by Del Peterson
- Mobility of Older Adults and People with Disabilities in North Dakota, presented by Jeremy Mattson
- How Rural Areas are Using Technology, presented by David Ripplinger
- Practical Uses of Rural NTD Data, presented by David Ripplinger
PTP Project to Use Open Data Kit
Aug 30, 2010
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The Transit, Technology, and Public Participation Project will use the Open Data Kit (ODK) suite of tools to collect transit rider information in the field.
Using ODK Collect, one application in the ODK suite, surveyors will be able to collect location, video, and audio information in addition to traditional text-based data. ODK runs on the Android platform an operating system for smartphones, slate computers, and other mobile devices.
The Transit, Technology, and Public Participation project will survey Metro Area Transit riders at bus stops and on vehicles to collect travel behavior and transit service information. Location-capture will be used to geotag completed surveys while audio-capture will allow survey participants to provide detailed, open-ended responses to survey questions.
The Open Data Kit is a collection of open-source and standards-based tools designed to help organizations collect, aggregate and visualize their data.
Transit Technology Course to be Presented in New Mexico
Aug 24, 2010
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Implementing Rural Transit Technology, a joint course of the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center and the National Transit Institute, will be held September 21-22 in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The course is geared toward transit professionals, state DOT office staff, and regional planners involved in planning and implementing technology-based systems for rural transit operations.
Information on the Implementing Rural Transit Technology course and online registration can be accessed from the course’s web page.
Transit, Technology, & Public Participation Project on Facebook & Twitter
Jul 16, 2010
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The Transit, Technology, & Public Participation Project is now on Facebook and Twitter. Follow the links below to visit the sites and follow the developments of the project as they occur.
Transit, Technology, and Public Participation Project Selected
Jun 29, 2010
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The Transit, Technology, and Public Participation Project is one of five new projects selected by the Federal Transit Administration’s Public Transportation Participation Pilot Program. The 18-month project will investigate the impact of technology in improving public participation in the public transportation planning process.
Project news and findings will be made available online at the project’s website throughout the course of the project so that anyone with an interest in transit planning and technology can follow project developments as they occur.
The Transit, Technology, & Public Participation Project is being conducted by the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC), a program of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at North Dakota State University, in partnership with Metro Area Transit (MAT), the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments (Metro COG), and the Cities of Fargo and Moorhead.
Rural Transit Technology Course to be Held in Conjunction with NRITS Conference
Jun 24, 2010
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Implementing Rural Transit Technology, a joint course of the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center and the National Transit Institute, will be held August 1-2 in Huntington, West Virginia, in conjunction with the National Rural ITS (NRITS) Conference. The course is geared toward transit professionals, state DOT office staff, and regional planners involved in planning and implementing technology-based systems for rural transit operations.
A specialized transit track that includes transit-specific sessions, a human services transportation workshop, in addition to the Implementing Rural Transit Technology course will be part of this year’s NRITS Conference. Registration for participation in the transit track can be made online.
More information on the Implementing Rural Transit Technology course is available on the course’s web page.
Transit Technology Report Released
Jun 22, 2010
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The Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC) has published the findings from a national survey on technology use by transit agencies serving small urban and rural communities. The survey, which was completed by 451 agencies in 45 states, collected data on agency use of information and communications technologies, transit-specific technology, and manager characteristics. This data was joined with financial and operating statistics from the Rural National Transit Database.
The survey asked questions about managers’ familiarity with and agency use of various technologies, the cost of completed implementations, as well as plans for future implementation.
The study modeled the impacts of agency and manager characteristics on the adoption of Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), Computer-Aided Scheduling and Dispatch software (CASD), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs). Agency size measured by fleet size, budget, and trips delivered are significant factors that impact the adoption of technology by rural transit agencies. Manager education and experience, attendance at national conferences, interaction with technology vendors, and participating in technology training were also found to be significant.
The recently released report, Technology Adoption by Small Urban & Rural Transit Agencies, is available in electronic form along with other SURTC reports on the SURTC website in the Research section. Questions related to the research should be directed to David Ripplinger, who can be reached by email at david.ripplinger@ndsu.edu.
