March 7, 2003

Chicago's Information and Physical Coordination Study: Transit Transfers from the Customer's Perspective


The Urban Transportation Center invites you all for a seminar on 3/7/03 at 11 AM.
The details are:

Date: 3/7/03, Friday
Time: 11 AM
Location: UTC Conference Room, CUPPA Hall, 412 S. Peoria Street, Suite 340, Chicago, IL 60607.

Speaker: Dr. John Allen, RTA, Chicago.

Topic: Chicago's Information and Physical Coordination Study: Transit Transfers from the Customer's Perspective

Abstract
If transit is to compete effectively in today's travel market, it needs to be as easy to use as possible, particularly at transfer points. As trip origins and destinations become more dispersed, it is harder to link these places with direct bus routes or rail lines. Therefore, it is crucial for transit agencies to find ways to facilitate the transfer process. The Information and Physical Coordination Study, performed for Chicago's Regional Transportation Authority in 2001-2002, addresses the transfer process from a customer-centered perspective.
Commissioned as part of a broader initiative to identify ways to facilitate travel among Chicago's transit providers, the study investigated 75 of the region's busiest and most strategic transfer points. Using drawings, photographs, and other data, the study team documented conditions at these interagency transfer locations, including bus and rail boarding areas, the process of walking from one carrier to another, and the adequacy of wayfinding signs.
The study is important for three reasons. First, this is the first time a study of the transferring process was conducted in the Chicago area using customer-oriented measures. Second, it provides a template to which data can be added in the future, should the need arise. And finally, it offers ideas for how other cities seeking to evaluate their transferring opportunities can inventory and evaluate their facilities.

Biography
John holds a master's from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate from MIT, both in urban and regional planning. He now works for the Regional Transportation Authority, where he has been involved in the Information and Physical Coordination Study and other components of the Regional Transit Coordination Plan. While at MIT, John was a research assistant on a project to advise Argentina's government about rail transit privatization and also helped Michael Shiffer research transit operations for two multimedia projects during Mike's years at MIT. John has also worked for metropolitan planning organizations in New York City and Bridgeport, CT. He first gave this talk at the January 2003 meeting of the Transportation Research Board, and personally took most of the slides illustrating conditions at Chicago's interagency transfer locations.