Developing a Model-based Decision Support System for Call-A-Ride Paratransit Service Problems.

摘要

Paratransit is the transportation service that supplements larger public transportation systems by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed which allows passengers who cannot use regular public transportation services due to their physical, cognitive, or mental disability to use alternative paratransit services complimentary to the fixed route services already in place. Such paratransit was not mandated until 1990 by law, but has been provided to individuals in a similar form in the greater Boston metropolitan area since 1977. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) regulations, which implement the transportation provisions of the ADA, require that public transit agencies that provide fixed route service also provide complementary paratransit service to persons with disabilities who are unable to use the fixed route system. The level of service provided by the paratransit program must be comparable to that provided by the fixed route service. There are six service criteria that define the comparability of this complementary service: (1) service area; (2) response time; (3) fares; (4) days and hours of operations; (5) trip purposes served and; (6) capacity constraints.