Risk management is the central element of the safety management system (SMS). Identifying, assessing, analyzing, mitigating, communicating, and documenting are all steps in an effective risk management program. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 157: Transit Safety Risk Assessment Methodologies is designed to help the transit industry better understand current and new in...

A high percentage of transit agencies believe social media is important for increasing ridership, improving customer satisfaction, and improving agency image. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 156: Uses of Social Media in Public Transportation updates 2012's TCRP Synthesis 99: Uses of Social Media in Public Transportation and again explores the use of social media among...

Intelligent transportation systems and, in particular, computer-aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location (CAD/AVL), have become quasi-universal in urban bus operations and support a variety of functions. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 155: Intelligent Transportation Systems in Headway-Based Bus Service synthesizes the current state of the practice of headway-bas...

Diverse small and mid-sized transit agencies are very interested in finding solutions for their transit planning challenges. They will benefit from seeing how similar agencies deal with their transit service issues. Large transit agencies could also apply what is learned to sub-areas in their transit service area that are comparable to the service area of a small or mid-sized transit agency. The T...

Today, transit agencies gather and manage more data than ever. However, data processing, exploration, the development of performance metrics, and communicating decisions are often fragmented and scattered across many departments. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 153: The Transit Analyst Toolbox: Analysis and Approaches for Reporting, Communicating, and Examining Transi...

In the United States, many transit stops are not adequate: bus stops that are just a signpost on a busy road, bus stops with broken sidewalks and/or pathway obstructions, bus stops with a lack of seating, and bus stops clearly not accessible to people with disabilities. For many bus riders, the journey to access and the wait at the bus stop are experiences that may inhibit their ability or desire ...

The occurrence of rail defects, broken rails, and broken rail derailments is consistent with the rate of development found in other studies that look at larger populations of rail defects. Likewise, the larger and more heavily used transit systems develop increased levels of defects, which is again consistent with what is seen in the railroad industry at large. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research...

Third rail systems provide traction power to electrified rail systems in many parts of the world, including the United States, and encounter problems such as failures that need to be investigated and remediated. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 150: Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice  documents the present practices and lessons learned, c...

Public transit buses face many operational challenges—especially when operating on the same streets and roads as other vehicles. Buses can be slowed by traffic congestion and get repeatedly caught at traffic lights, slowing buses down and delaying both passengers on board and passengers waiting at stops farther along the route. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 149: Tra...

Five different business models for mobile fare payment apps are examined, as the world of apps used by transit agencies in the United States and Canada continues to steadily grow. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 148: Business Models for Mobile Fare Apps documents current practices and experiences of transit agencies that offer mobile fare payment applications to trans...

Women have traditionally been underrepresented within the transit workforce. However, the percentage of women within transit agencies appears to be increasing, and many transit agencies report that the percentage of women advancing into management and leadership positions has also been increasing over the past 5 years. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 147: Attracting, ...

Sixty percent of the transit-industry practitioners surveyed rate their transit agency’s efforts to address their major security challenges as somewhat or very successful. However, only 25 percent say they have implemented any security-risk-reduction program that they consider to be exceptional or exemplary. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 146: Transit Security Prepar...

Transit agencies around the country are facing the challenges of reducing transit bus collisions and the injuries, fatalities, and liability expenses associated with these collisions. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 145: Current Practices in the Use of Onboard Technologies to Avoid Transit Bus Incidents and Accidents documents the current practices in the use of the v...

Nearly all transit agencies are seeing potential benefits to multimodal payment convergence. However, many agencies find that implementing necessary upgrades is cost-prohibitive, which is the biggest barrier to full adoption. The TRB Transit Cooperative Research Program's TCRP Synthesis 144: Multimodal Fare Payment Integration documents current practices and experiences of transit agencies dealing...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 143: Managing the Transit Scheduling Workforce examines how transit agencies are recruiting, training, developing, and retaining schedulers. In the case where transit agencies use third parties to create schedules, the report also shows how transit systems manage those third parties. The report is designed to assist transit agencies in ma...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 142: Implementing the U.S. DOT Reasonable Modification Rule provides an overview of the current state of practice regarding transit systems implementation of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) regulation 49 C.F.R Part 37. The report describes the experiences of agencies as they ma...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 141: Microtransit or General Public Demand–Response Transit Services: State of the Practice provides an overview of the current state of the practice of transit systems that are directly providing general public demand–response or microtransit with their own vehicles and personnel or using a traditional contractor. The report presents a l...

TCRP Synthesis 140: Comprehensive Bus Network Redesigns provides an overview of the current state of practice regarding comprehensive bus network redesign. The study examines practices among agencies of different sizes, geographic locations, and modes. The report captures the many components that are needed to successfully plan and implement a redesign and carefully considers the goals and objecti...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 139: Transit Service Evaluation Standards provides an overview of the purpose, use, and application of performance measures, service evaluation standards, and data collection methods at North American transit agencies. The report addresses the service evaluation process, from the selection of appropriate metrics through development of ser...

TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 138: Public Transit Rider Origin–Destination Survey Methods and Technologies captures the state of the practice among agencies of different sizes, geographic locations, and modes and evaluates the opportunities for and challenges of conducting surveys in an era of emerging technologies. The report presents the reality and complexity of co...