MassDOT Regional Bus Network Buildout
Technical Advisory Committee Kick-Off Meeting
April 1, 2015
Purpose: To provide the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) with an overview of the project
scope and obtain their input on goals and service and performance standards for MassDOT’s
regional bus program, BusPlus.
Attendees:
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Jonathan Belcher – Central Transportation Planning Staff
Jonathan Church – Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission
Don DeVivo – DATTCO
Alison Felix – Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Larry Field – Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance
Scott Hamwey – MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning
Mark Sanborn – Concord Coach/Dartmouth Coach/Boston Express /MassBus
Mike Sharff – Peter Pan Bus Lines
Patrick Tierney – Cape Cod Commission
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Kyle J. Emge – MassDOT Rail & Transit Division (Project Manager)
Pete Sutton – MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning (Project Manager)
Abril Novoa Camino – MassDOT Rail & Transit Division
Fred Fravel – KFH Group (Project Manager)
Jill Stober – KFH Group (Assistant Project Manager)
This document highlights the discussion points from the meeting. Please see the PowerPoint
presentation for the content presented to the TAC.
Project Scope:
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Develop specific projects to address regional bus needs, where implementation plans
will serve as the basis for requesting and programming funds to implement service
improvements and expansions.
o Improvement projects that are not new services, such as infrastructure
improvements, may be identified in this project, but the BusPlus program may
not be the appropriate funding source. For example, parking or bus on shoulder
to promote the viability of new/existing services.
o Private carriers asked MassDOT to consider subsidizing service so fares can be
lower, to increase ridership.
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Data Resources for the Study:
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The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) serves 101 cities and towns in
Metropolitan Boston. MAPC resources include 1) a development database of projects in
the pipeline, and 2) projections of housing units by municipality.
o MAPC’s Central 128 study includes employee zip code data. Study found more
commuters are from southern New Hampshire than the Boston area.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) requires employers
with 100+ employees to report on commute modes. Reports may be paper copies only,
but DEP could provide locations of large employers.
Examine data on specialized transportation to medical facilities across the state (e.g.,
western Massachusetts to Springfield), and identify opportunities to shift to regional bus
service.
MassDOT Planning has inventory of park and ride lots.
See what data/inventories the metropolitan planning organizations have available,
including data on congestion points.
MassDOT BusPlus Program, Possible Goals and Objectives:
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Coverage – serve all places with population of X and above. Don’t use municipality
populations as a basis, as some municipalities have large geographies. Better to start
with a population density threshold.
Coverage – serve all places with 2,000-3,000 people per square mile.
Connectivity – services should provide:
o A two-seat ride for travel from a smaller town to a primary urban destination,
such as Boston or New York.
o A one-seat ride for travel from a smaller town to a secondary center.
o A one-seat ride for travel from a secondary center to a primary destination.
o It’s more feasible for a regional transit authority to provide service in a small
community and act as feeder service to an intercity bus route, rather than having
the intercity route travel into a small community to pick up few passengers
Focus on serving downtowns.
o In the western regions, most residents live in downtown and are likely to walk to
downtown.
o Examine the 26 Gateway Cities (e.g., Lowell, Worcester, Springfield), which are
focusing developments in downtown, for regional bus needs.
o Town centers have more affordable housing than Boston; with walkable
environments, establishing a regional bus stop can support downtown growth.
o Town centers are growing, but maybe not enough to provide good market
demand for regional bus service.
o Be realistic about whether projected downtown development will really occur
The localities decide whether to incentivize downtown development.
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o Regional bus routes can serve both downtowns and park and ride lots, especially
where park and ride lots are located off the highway en route to the urban
destination.
Encourage mode shift from single occupancy automobiles.
o May need to serve park and ride lots as incentive for choice riders to switch to
bus.
Regional Bus Needs:
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When considering candidates for regional bus stops, analyze each community’s market
characteristics and demand – commuter and/or intercity?
Massachusetts
o Further west more intercity needs.
o “Belt” in mid-state – both markets including commuters and midday trips.
New England
o Western and northern parts of region are more rural, likely intercity market.
o Eastern and northeastern areas have density.
Smart growth observations related to regional bus needs:
o Locations of jobs are shifting toward urban areas.
o Some young professionals prefer to live downtown and use alternative
transportation.
o Others are moving farther out for affordable housing and driving to work.
o Reverse commute needs.
Examine existing information on customer complaints about services and fares to help
identify needs. Obtain information from MBTA, regional transit authorities,
metropolitan planning organizations, business councils, and private carriers.
Examine existing services that are in danger of being cut by private carriers.
Identify congestion points as an indicator of demand.
Underserved areas/service gaps from 2013 Massachusetts Regional Bus Study:
o Blackstone Valley communities of Northbridge and Uxbridge to Boston –
uncertain if commuter service is viable, intercity service may be.
o Southbridge, Palmer, and Ware – uncertain if commuter service is viable,
intercity service may be.
o Clinton to Worcester and Boston.
o Service gaps on Route 128 and 495, lot of congestion, diverse origins and
destinations are hard to serve, disjointed corporate parks – possibly serve
clusters of employers.
Service Characteristics:
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For private carriers, it is preferable to have steady all day service than concentrated
service during peak periods only.
More commuter heavy services are less likely profitable for private carriers.
Services with a lot of riders going to Logan airport are profitable.
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It’s possible to serve both intercity and commuter markets with the same route (e.g.,
Boston Express).
Serving park and ride lots works well for travelers from outer areas to primary
destinations such as Boston, but do not serve the reverse – travelers from primary
destinations to outer areas.
Where both bus and rail are available, riders will wait until the last minute and take the
mode that fits their schedule.
Performance Standards:
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Fare level, set to maximize ridership.
o Compare regional bus fare to costs of other options, such as vanpool and train.
o Generally, private operators set the bus fare lower than train fares on the same
stretch.
o Fares on services with public subsidies are artificially low, while private carriers
must set fares to cover operations costs.
o On high ridership routes with capacity issues, private carriers use dynamic
pricing as a tool to move discretionary ridership.
o Walk up ticket price varies widely between commuter routes, while cost for
discount passes is comparable.
o Where MassDOT is subsidizing regional bus service, set parking costs to disincentivize riders from parking closer to the central business district, and charge
for park and ride use to encourage bus ridership.
o MassDOT sets intercity service at $0.13 per mile ($4-$24 per one-way trip) to
encourage ridership.
Service Standards:
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Take into account seasonal factors in setting service standards
Next Steps:
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KFH Group will propose service and performance standards for the TAC to review and
provide input.
KFH Group will conduct outreach to stakeholders and the public to obtain input on
regional bus goals, needs, and priorities.
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