Surviving in the Suburbs: Transit's Ultimate Challenge

Rapid decentralization of population and employment over the past several decades has chipped away at the American transit industry's market share. This paper examines the implications of decentralization on the ridership, operating performance, and fiscal health of the nation's largest transit operators. Based on the results of a national survey, a number of service strategies are explored that offer hope for reversing transit's decline, including: timed-transfers, paratransit services, reverse commute and specialized runs, employer-sponsored vanpools, and HOV/dedicated busway facilities. Land-use options, like traditional neighborhood designs and transit-based housing, are also examined. The paper ends with a discussion of various institutional, pricing, and organizational considerations when implementing service reforms and land-use initiatives. Century-old models involving joint public-private development of communities and transit facilities, it is argued, also deserve reconsideration.