Analysis of Columbia's public transportation system with recommendations for expansion
by Ian Thomas, Executive Director, PedNet Coalition
June 16, 2011
As has been observed through the Columbians for Modern Efficient Transit (CoMET) campaign, there is a strong and growing community desire to expand Columbia Transit's service over the next few years.
To explore this desire further, University of Missouri engineering students Maren Reinig and Alison Compton, working as interns with the PedNet Coalition and Columbia Transit, conducted an analysis of Columbia's public transportation system during April and May, 2011. Their project consisted of a 15-question survey of more than 900 current transit users followed by projections of ways Columbia Transit could respond to the primary desire of transit users - to provide an evening service on all weekdays instead of just Thursdays and Fridays.
Survey questions were designed to gather demographic information, current usage patterns, customer satisfaction, and priorities for expansion from transit users. The main conclusions from the survey were:
- Most transit users earn less than $10,000 per year
- The most common purpose for riding transit is to commute daily to/from work
- Columbia Transit's customer satisfaction rating is good
- Priority for improvement is extended service hours (versus increasing frequency, expanding service area, or adding amenities)
- Priority desire is to extend weekday evening service hours (versus early morning or weekend service)
- Most transit users are willing to pay $1:00-$1:50 (current fare is $0:50-$1:00)
The report (see below) goes on to estimate the cost of adding an evening service on Mondays through Wednesdays at $450,000/year, and that a 6-month "pilot project" on just two routes could be implemented for just $22,000 in additional funds - some or all of which could possibly be offset through a fare increase.
