Maintaining Transit Effectiveness Under Major Financial Constraints: A Synthesis of Transit Practice. TCRP Synthesis 112.

摘要

Transit agencies in the United States have frequently dealt with insuffi cient resources, but the great recession of 2007 to 2009 clearly presented the most difficult financial challenges most transit agencies have ever seen. The collapse of the real estate market and the decline in sales tax revenue substantially reduced the revenues typically available to support transit systems. Service was reduced in many communities, and transit agencies struggled to maintain their effectiveness. Essentially, this means that they needed to balance their budgets with reduced funds and maintain quality service in their communities while costs for such items as fuel and health care increased substantially, as did the demand for their service. Transit agencies have responded by becoming more efficient in a great variety of ways. While gains from efficiencies are rarely sufficient themselves to balance transit agency budgets under such severe financial strain, each dollar saved or generated from new sources of revenue helps to maintain service in a community and demonstrates that the agency is doing everything possible without raising fares or increasing taxes. This synthesis examines the many ways transit agencies have reduced their costs and generated new revenues to help provide as many dollars as possible to maintain or increase service and thereby maintain their effectiveness. The sampling plan to obtain information for this report was based on a survey that was issued to 46 transit agencies. Forty transit agencies completed the survey, representing an 87% response rate. This synthesis includes an extensive literature review that, together with the survey responses, provides information refl ecting the experiences at more than 100 transit agencies in the United States. Four case examples offer more focused reviews of the efforts individual transit agencies have made to retain or expand their effectiveness in the commnities they serve.