AN EXPERIMENT WITH REAL-TIME TRANSIT INFORMATION IN TAMPA
Candace Brakewood, PhD Student, Georgia Tech, candace.brakewood@gatech.edu | Dr. Sean Barbeau, Principal Mobile Software Architect for R&D, USF, barbeau@cutr.usf.edu | Dr. Kari Watkins, Assistant Professor, Georgia Tech, kari.watkins@ce.gatech.edu
Objectives & Methodology
Experimental Design: Solomon 4 Group
A Solomon four group research design is used to control for other variables.
Participants were randomly assigned into groups after completing the initial survey.
 Objective: Quantify the
impacts of real-time bus
information on transit rider
behavior and satisfaction
February 2013 (Completed)
 Methodology: Behavioral
experiment including small
deployment of OneBusAway
Pre-Wave Survey: Using OBA
65% of HART bus riders say they would use real-time
information every time they ride the bus.
If you had access to OneBusAway,
how often would you use it?
May 2013 (Coming soon!)
PRE-TEST
POST-TEST
of Experimental Group
of Experimental Group
(232 participants)
(232 participants)
Control Group
58%
Most times I ride the bus
Rarely
Never
 Location: Tampa, Florida
PRE-TEST
POST-TEST
of Control Group
of Control Group
(231 participants)
(231 participants)
Experimental Group
72%
0%
Background Information
 OneBusAway: Originally
deployed in Seattle,
Washington & recently
adapted for New York City
How can you access OneBusAway?
Mobile Website
Android App
iPhone App
Control Group
Satisfaction
Safety
• Does real-time information increase satisfaction with
transit service?
• Prior research by Ferris et al. (2011) and Zhang (2010)
• Does real-time information increase the perception of
safety?
• Prior research by Zhang ( 2010) and Ferris et al. (2011)
Transfer
48%
39%
12%
I would ride the bus more
often
I'm not sure
Experimental Group
55%
33%
9%
N/A
Pre-Wave Survey: Technology Adoption
Most HART bus riders have access to digital technologies.
46% of survey respondents use an Android smartphone and 64% use computers.
Text Messaging
Cell Phone (not smartphone)
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Future Research
 Post-Wave Survey: Conduct the post-wave survey in May
 Statistical Analysis: Compare the survey answers from
the OneBusAway test group with the control group
60%
 Regression Analysis: Model change in frequency of bus
travel (per week) due to OneBusAway
30%
Laptop or Desktop Computer
64%
Tablet
30%
Other Smartphone
Where’s the
bus?
6%
Android
46%
3%
iPhone
23%
0%
References
100%
No, I would ride the bus
about same
Blackberry
• Does real-time information decrease the transfer
penalty?
• No known prior research
80%
I would ride bus less often
What technologies/devices do you use?
• Does real-time information decrease wait times?
• Prior research by Watkins et al. (2011)
60%
If you had access to OneBusAway,
would you change how often you ride HART buses?
0%
• Does real-time information increase transit ridership?
• Prior research by Tang et al. (2012) and Zhang (2010)
40%
51% of HART bus riders say they would ride the bus more
frequently if they had real-time bus information.
 Collaboration: USF is
leading the development
for Tampa & Georgia Tech is
conducting the evaluation
Research Questions & Literature
20%
I'm not sure
18%
Pre-Wave Survey: Ridership
 Tampa, Florida:
Hillsborough Area Regional
Transit Authority (HART) is
the third instance of
OneBusAway
Wait times
Every time I ride the bus
Sometimes
 Data Collection: Before and
after web-based survey
distributed through transit
agency website & email list
Ridership
26%
10%
20%
(1) Watkins, K., Ferris, B., Borning, A., Rutherford, S., and Layton, D. (2011) "Where Is My Bus? Impact of mobile real-time information on the perceived and actual wait time of transit
riders." Transportation Research Part A 45. 839-848.
(2) Ferris, B., Watkins, K., and Borning, A. (2011) "OneBusAway: Behavioral and Satisfaction Changes Resulting from Providing Real-Time Arrival Information for Public Transit." Proceedings of the 2011
Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting.
(3) Tang, L., Thakuriah, P.V. (2012). “Ridership effects of real-time bus information system: A case study in the City of Chicago.” Transportation Research Part C, v.22, 2012 June, p.146(16)
(4) Zhang, Feng. (2010). “Traveler Responses to Real-Time Transit Passenger Information Systems.” Doctoral Dissertation. University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Acknowledgements
This project is funded by the National Center for Transit Research at the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), a University Transportation
Center (UTC). The authors would like to thank the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority for their support of the OneBusAway project,
particularly Shannon Haney. We are also grateful to the 400+ bus riders in Tampa who have agreed to participate in this exciting study.