Jill Hough

Exploring Travel Behavior of Elderly Women in Rural and Small Urban North Dakota: An Ecological Modeling Approach

Many studies focus on the mobility patterns of elderly people. However, few studies have explored the mobility of elderly women in rural and small urban areas. Compared with their peers in large urban areas, these women tend to face greater challenges because of limited services and mobility options. Using data from 1,021 respondents to a survey conducted in North Dakota, this study examines the determinants of the travel behavior of elderly women. In particular, a multilevel conceptual ecological model was applied to identify how individual-level social environment and physical environment factors influence their travel patterns. Ordered probit models were estimated for the frequencies of nine types of trips. It was found that individual factors (e.g., self-efficacy and physical limitations), social environment factors (e.g., clubs and family), and physical environment factors (e.g., rural versus small urban areas) significantly affect the mobility of elderly women in North Dakota. The implications of these results for policies that aim to enhance the mobility of elderly women in rural and small urban locations are discussed.

An Assessment of Demand for Rural Intercity Transportation Services in a Changing Environment

With higher fuel costs and changing economic conditions, travel behavior and the level and allocation of resources in highways, rail, air, and transit service in rural areas may be changing. The objective of this study is to determine the attitude of would-be passengers in their choice of mode and the factors determining their choice in rural and small urban areas. A stated preference survey was developed and administered to residents of North Dakota and northwest and west central Minnesota. The survey asked respondents to identify their mode of choice in different hypothetical situations in which five modes were available—automobile, air, bus, train, and van—under differing mode and trip characteristics. A multinomial logit model was used to estimate the likelihood that an individual would choose a given mode on the basis of the characteristics of the mode, the characteristics of the individual, and the characteristics of the trip. Results show that travelers, especially those of lower income, respond to higher gasoline prices by choosing alternative modes in greater numbers, suggesting rural intercity bus, van, and rail ridership would increase if gasoline prices rose.

North Dakota Gravel Road Management: Alternative Strategies

Gravel roads account for a large portion of the total 5.1 million km (3.2 million mi) of rural roads in the United States. These roads support the movement of farm families, rural residents, school buses, mail carriers, tourists, and agricultural commodities. In recent years, these roads have been affected by several trends. First, agricultural states are experiencing population shifts from farming areas to urbanized centers as farm sizes continue to grow, further reducing population densities and traffic levels. Second, some states such as North Dakota are experiencing a shortage in quality gravel supplies. Third, more rural road users perceive a lower level of service on gravel roads and demand better services, specifically more paved roads. Finally, the reduction in transportation budgets limits the number of gravel road kilometers that can be properly maintained. Several research efforts that examined alternative approaches to reduce gravel road maintenance costs are summarized here. These strategies may generally be classified into (a) modifying gravel road surface for high traffic roads (i.e., paving or using chemical additives), (b) reducing maintenance on gravel roads with lower traffic volumes, and (c) closing unneeded gravel roads. These options require careful economic and legal analysis before they would be implemented. The results of a case study that investigated the feasibility of paving gravel roads with various traffic levels and a brief overview of a survey of chemical soil additives in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming are reported.

INNOVATIVE FINANCING METHODS FOR LOCAL ROADS IN MIDWEST AND MOUNTAIN-PLAINS STATES

Budget constraints for transportation projects is a growing problem at the federal, state, and local levels. At the same time, several changes have been affecting demands placed on the transportation systems, for example, population shifts, changes in travel patterns, and changes in economic activity. County and local governments are faced with increased demands on some portions of their road systems, and other portions have seen a drop in the level of use. As a result, these transportation agencies are facing tremendous challenges to maintain their extensive road networks and provide improvements when and where needed. Traditional funding sources are no longer adequate. There is a great need for counties to explore innovative methods to increase revenues or decrease costs or both. However, because of the nature of rural states (i.e., low population density and a limited tax base), methods used to supplement public funding of transportation projects in urban areas may not be applicable. Described are 4 innovative financing methods (e.g., rural improvement districts) and 14 cost reducing strategies (e.g., sharing equipment) used by local governments in eight rural states. County road officials identified these methods through a mail questionnaire and rated key criteria, such as ease of collection, to evaluate each method before implementing it. Rural improvement districts, special assessment districts, and the wheel tax were identified as innovative methods that are not widely used to raise revenues for a county road system. Advantages and disadvantages of each innovative financing method identified are discussed.

Method for Estimating Statewide Transit Needs and Investment Priorities for Rural and Small Urban Areas

This study demonstrated a method for identifying statewide transit needs and gaps, prioritizing investment needs for statewide transit planning, collecting better data for the demand-response transit level of service, estimating costs of needed improvements, and projecting service needs based on projected population growth. The method was applied to the state of North Dakota and is transferable to any state, especially those with a large number of rural demand-response transit agencies that are not located within metropolitan planning areas. Currently, data in the National Transit Database are insufficient for analyzing the level of service for rural transit agencies because the database lacks information on geographic service area and span of service. A survey conducted for this study filled this data need by collecting detailed information regarding each agency’s service area and the number of days and hours of service being provided. These data combined with population and demographic data are useful for identifying gaps in transit service and prioritizing needed service improvements. The study also calculated per capita trips, vehicle miles, and vehicle hours provided in regions across the state. These performance measures were compared with benchmark values to identify areas in which the transit system may not be meeting the needs of the service area population, with the understanding that needs are not identical in all areas. The study estimated necessary increases in service and funding to meet target levels in different scenarios. Population projections were also considered for estimating needed increases in service and funding.

Developing a Method for Assessing National Demand-Response Transit Level of Service

Demand-response transit service is a major source of mobility for older adults and people with disabilities in both urban and rural areas in United States. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant programs under sections 5307, 5310, and 5311 all have components designed to increase the availability of paratransit or demand-response transit service. However, there is little information in the National Transit Database (NTD) or elsewhere about the extent of demand-response transit service coverage across the country. The lack of data makes it a challenge to identify gaps in service and unmet needs. The primary objective of this study was to fill the data gaps to the available NTD database to effectively determine the demand-response transit level of service. This study also developed a priority ranking procedure to identify where the greatest needs for service improvements exist in a state.

Future of Rural Transit

This paper provides a contemplative description of the future of rural public transportation. It considers emerging technologies along with their long-term implications and corresponding impacts on rural communities. The authors used their collective knowledge to identify key drivers of change in rural areas. As a result, the authors expect the future definition of rural areas to change and a new geographical classification to emerge. This classification is a continuum of population density gradient from highly populated urban areas to sparsely populated areas. The paper also suggests that automated vehicles and hologram telecommuting could dominate the U.S. transportation industry, even in rural settings.

Characterising pavement roughness at non-uniform speeds using connected vehicles

ABSTRACT Methods of pavement roughness characterisations using connected vehicles are poised to scale beyond the frequency, span and affordability of existing methods that require specially instrumented vehicles and skilled technicians. However, speed variability and differences in suspension behaviour require segmentation of the connected vehicle data to achieve some level of desired precision and accuracy with relatively few measurements. This study evaluates the reliability of a Road Impact Factor (RIF) transform under stop-and-go conditions. A RIF-transform converts inertial signals from on-board accelerometers and speed sensors to roughness indices (RIF-indices), in real-time. The case studies collected data from 18 different buses during their normal operation in a small urban city. Within 30 measurements, the RIF-indices distributed normally with an average margin-of-error below 6%. This result indicates that a large number of measurements will provide a reliable estimate of the average roughness experienced. Statistical t-tests distinguished the relatively small differences in average roughness levels among the roadway segments evaluated. In conclusion, when averaging roughness measurements from the same type of vehicle moving at non-uniform speeds, the RIF-transform will provide ever-increasing precision and accuracy as the traversal volume increases.

Asset Management and Funding: Transport and Non-Profit Institutions

Although this chapter has concentrated on the United States case, non-profit public transportation organizations have been in operation around the world for decades. Non-profit public transportation organizations can be handled differently, as addressed by the four case studies presented in the chapter. The case studies highlighted successful, long-term programs where the non-profit organizational form has been used to coordinate and/or provide transportation services. The examples chosen are typical of the approaches used the USA for transportation of the general public and special user groups, and for directing programs to improve the efficiency of existing facilities and services through transportation management organizations.