TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
The nation's growth and the need to meet mobility,
environmental, and energy objectives place demands on public
transit systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need
of upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency,
and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is
necessary to solve operating problems, to adapt appropriate new
technologies from other industries, and to introduce innovations
into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Program
(TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit
industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet
demands placed on it.
The need for TCRP was originally identified in
TRB Special
Report 213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions,
published in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Urban
Mass Transportation Administration—now the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public Transit
Association (APTA),
Transportation 2000
, also recognized the
need for local, problem-solving research. TCRP, modeled after the
longstanding and successful National Cooperative Highway
Research Program, undertakes research and other technical
activities in response to the needs of transit service providers. The
scope of TCRP includes a variety of transit research fields
including planning, service configuration, equipment, facilities,
operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and
administrative practices.
TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992.
Proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was
authorized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a
memorandum agreement outlining TCRP operating procedures was
executed by the three cooperating organizations: FTA, the National
Academy of Sciences, acting through the Transportation Research
Board (TRB); and the Transit Development Corporation, Inc.
(TDC), a nonprofit educational and research organization
established by APTA. TDC is responsible for forming the
independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight
and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee.
Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically
but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the
responsibility of the TOPS Committee to formulate the research
program by identifying the highest priority projects. As part of the
evaluation, the TOPS Committee defines funding levels and
expected products.
Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel,
appointed by the Transportation Research Board. The panels
prepare project statements (requests for proposals), select
contractors, and provide technical guidance and counsel throughout
the life of the project. The process for developing research problem
statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB
in managing cooperative research programs since 1962. As in other
TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without
compensation.
Because research cannot have the desired impact if products fail
to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on
disseminating TCRP results to the intended end users of the
research: transit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB
provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice,
and other supporting material developed by TCRP research. APTA
will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and other
activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban and rural
transit industry practitioners.
The TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can
cooperatively address common operational problems. The TCRP
results support and complement other ongoing transit research and
training programs.
TCRP REPORT 47
Project B-11 FY'95
ISSN 1073-4872
ISBN 0-309-06323-X
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 99-71030
© 1999 Transportation Research Board
Price $53.00
NOTICE
The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Transit
Cooperative Research Program conducted by the Transportation
Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the
National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing
Board's judgment that the project concerned is appropriate with respect
to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council.
The members of the technical advisory panel selected to monitor this
project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly
competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines
appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or
implied are those of the research agency that performed the research,
and while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical
panel, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research
Board, the National Research Council, the Transit Development
Corporation, or the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S.
Department of Transportation.
Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical
panel according to procedures established and monitored by the
Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the
Governing Board of the National Research Council.
To save time and money in disseminating the research findings, the
report is essentially the original text as submitted by the research
agency. This report has not been edited by TRB.
Special Notice
The Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the
Transit Development Corporation, and the Federal Transit
Administration (sponsor of the Transit Cooperative Research Program)
do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers'
names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the
clarity and completeness of the project reporting.
Published reports of the
TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
are available from:
Transportation Research Board
National Research Council
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20418
and can be ordered through the Internet at
http://www.nas.edu/trb/index.html
Printed in the United States of America