TCRP Report 136: Guidebook for Rural Demand-Response Transportation: Measuring, Assessing, and Improving Performance will be of interest to rural public transportation systems that provide demand-response transit (DRT) services and to the communities they serve. The Guidebook is a resource to assist DRT systems to measure, assess, and improve their performance, focusing on DRT systems in rural areas.

This book offers solutions for creating sustainable urban transportation. Topics include historical developments, planning, policy and legislative initiatives, nonmotorized and public transportation, environmental and social justice issues, and safety. The author discusses social, health and economic consequences of autocentric transportation and possible policy measures to address them. The important topic of changing travel behavior is discussed. Chapters contain straightforward concepts, case studies, review questions and ideas for class projects. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

This Guidebook is intended to support public transportation professionals in identifying and implementing appropriate technologies for their transit systems. It can be useful in the procurement of low-tech solutions, such as off-the-shelf computer software, as well as high-tech systems, such as automatic vehicle location systems. The intended audience for this Guidebook includes transit operators managing rural and small urban transit systems of varying size.

City and state governments around the world are struggling to achieve environmentally sustainable transport. Economic, technological, city and transport planning and human behaviour solutions are often hampered by ineffective implementation. So attention is now turning to institutional, governmental and political barriers. Approaches to these implementation problems assume that transport ownership can only be public (owned by state entities) or private (corporate or personal). Another option – largely unexplored to date – is communal ownership of transport. Community-Owned Transport proposes and develops the notion that communal ownership has a historical basis and provides unique opportunities for providing personal mobility. It looks at the historical roots of modern urban transport’s failings as those of technological change and the associated governing of transport systems, particularly the role of public sector institutions. Community ownership is explored through the new ‘sharing economy’ developments – car sharing, ridesharing and bicycle share schemes – and older social innovations in ecovillages and communal living. Models and practices of community ownership of transport are provided and this study also discusses how community ownership might contribute to sustainable transport. Drawing widely on different disciplines and fields of scholarship, this book explores the conceptual and practical aspects of communal ownership of transport. It will be a valuable resource for those seeking innovative approaches to addressing the pressing problems of transport, including graduate and postgraduate students, as well as policymakers, practitioners and community groups.

This report provides an overview of the tribal transit planning process and detailed guidance about the various steps for planning and implementing a tribal transit system. The steps that are described may be used for planning a new transit system, enhancing an existing service, or taking action to sustain services. While the guidebook is primarily aimed at tribal transit planners, it will also be of interest to tribal transportation planners and liaisons at all levels of government. In the research effort, data were collected from 67 tribes during Phase 1 and more detailed information was collected from 48 tribes during Phase 2. Fifteen tribes were visited for the development of case studies. Data were collected regarding the type of transit services, the size and scope of the transit programs, and funding approaches.

The research, presented in the form of a guidebook, provides a valuable resource to many people who may implement or adapt new concepts to improve public transportation in their community. Much of the information was derived from a careful review of innovative public transportation initiatives undertaken in rural and small urban communities throughout the United States. The guidebook is divided into two parts: Part I addresses the culture for change and innovation and Part II presents more than 40 initiatives and innovations implemented by an array of organizations, including public and nonprofit transit systems, regional planning agencies, state transit associations, and state departments of transportation.