Report finds bus ridership hike among colleges, universities

An 88-page report on university transit systems presents information about practices and trends in the areas of operations, policies and planning.

Nearly all transit providers to more than 90 colleges and universities reported higher bus ridership due to a variety of factors, including increased service availability, U-Pass agreements, parking issues and the increasing price of fuel.

That was one of the key operational findings of a new Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) report called “Transit Systems in Colleges and Universities.” The study was sponsored by the FTA and performed by Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc.

The report, which updates a TCRP study performed in 2001, discusses the current state of transit systems serving colleges and universities, including campus-operated programs, municipal or regional systems, or a combination of both. The information was gathered through a review of literature, a survey distributed to transit systems and focused case studies of a number of systems’ best practices in key topic areas.

According to the study, key challenges facing university transit include provision of accessible services, seasonality of service and related workforce issues, and the rising cost of fuel and other services.

To download a PDF of the 88-page report, visit www.tcrponline.org/index.cgi.