presented to MTF Transit Committee presented by Scott Seeburger, Myung Sung, Dave Schmitt & Peter Haliburton November 20, Tri-Rail On-Board Survey

1 Topics 1. Why the survey? 2. FTA’s interests/concerns 3. Addressing FTA’s concerns 4. Survey instrument 5. Survey sample and response rates 6. Survey implementation 7. Ancillary Data 8. Expansion & model validation approach

2 Tri-Rail 72-mile commuter rail system 18 stations across 3 counties 1:45 traveling time About 52 trains/day Daily ridership ~8,000 (2000)~8,000 (2000) ~11,000 (March 2007)~11,000 (March 2007) ~16,000 (October 2008)~16,000 (October 2008)

3 Why the Survey? FTA requires current & system-wide transit rider data be collected for model testing if model forecasts will be used for New Starts PE applications Ridership has increased 45% since the last survey was conducted (March 2007), so the characteristics of the new riders need to be understood

4 FTA’s Thoughts on Surveying “Good Practice” The survey must include certain data items for comparisons The sample must be controlled, so that it can be expanded to a full data set that is representative of all riders

5 FTA’s Thoughts on Surveying “Good Practice” (2) The sampling plan must… Be designed with transit markets & rider characteristics in mind Carefully allocate the sample so as to minimize bias Account for non-response biases Include count data for sample expansion Discuss surveying methods

6 FTA’s Thoughts on Surveying “Good Practice” (3) The instrument should include a minimum amount of data items… Trip origin and destination Purposes at the origin and destination Access and egress modes Transit path Rider characteristics

7 Addressing FTA’s Thoughts Collecting boarding/alighting counts by station by train to assist with survey expansion Counting vehicles at park-ride stations to avoid expansion bias (see next slide) Scrutinize question types, organization and wording to improve response rates and avoid bias Incorporate lessons from previous survey

8 Uniform Expansion Daily boardings 600 Completed surveys 15 Walk-access2 Drive-access13 Revised Expansion Daily boardings 600 Completed surveys 15 Survey weight 40.0 Walk-access trips 80 Drive-access trips 520 Park-ride lot count = 15 cars Walk-Access Expansion Daily boardings 570 Completed surveys 2 Survey weight Drive-Access Expansion Daily boardings 30 Completed surveys 13 Survey weight 2.31 Survey Results It is important to conduct auxiliary counts to improve survey expansion!

9 Incorporating Lessons from the 2007 Survey… T here was a high amount of auto egress – is this real? Count egress modes at individual stations There are many short trippers who may not have enough time to complete survey Ask critical questions via intercept survey Have crew stress critical questions 34% of all records came from students Special counts by on-board crew Special acc ess/egress counts at individual stations Two-car or overnight parkers

Survey Instrument 10

11 Survey Sample Half-Day On-Board Survey with Full-Day Door Counts 30 trains out of a total of 50 trains Both northbound and southbound Response Rate Ridership Counts ( ) −15,662 Surveys Distributed −8,403 (54%) Surveys Collected −6,104 (72%)

12 Survey Implementation Pretest Training, October 21, 2008 Three sessions for 150 temps and 25 professionals Door Count and Survey Distributions- Temps Train/Car Captains- Professionals Conducted Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Start to 2:00 PM- Surveys All Day- Door Counts

13 Supplementary Station Counts Control for non-response bias Overnight parking Auto-egress Short trippers School trips  14 of 18 stations

14 1. Mangonia Park 2. West Palm Beach 3. Lake Worth – short trips only 4. Boynton Beach 5. Boca Raton 6. Deerfield Beach 7. Pompano Beach – short trips only 8. Cypress Creek 9. Fort Lauderdale 10. Fort Lauderdale Airport 11. Hollywood 12. Golden Glades 13. Metrorail 14. Miami Airport Survey Elements Overnight Parking Counts Mode of Access Travel distance query Boarding and alighting counts Mode of Egress

15 Partial Survey Results ACCESS MODE MODETOTAL% Walk24111% Bike1205% Schoolbus/ Metrorail00% Transit Bus26512% Tri-Rail Shuttle1316% Park N Ride73633% Rideshare N Park1115% Taxi261% Drop-Off62628% Other50% Total % 67% auto access

16 Partial Survey Results EGRESS MODE MODETOTAL% Walk42322% Bike1076% Schoolbus/ Metrorail00% Transit Bus23112% Tri-Rail Shuttle58731% Park N Drive1538% Rideshare N Drive483% Taxi412% Pick-Up31917% Other50% Total % 30% auto egress

17 Observations Large number of non-Tri-Rail related vehicles parked overnight Business staging Vehicle exchange Ridesharing Many passengers making indirect trips

18 Expansion & Model Validation Approach 1. Expand survey as disaggregately as possible, some options include: by origin/destination station, access/egress mode, and time of day 2. Verify expansion & survey data by preparing several different cross-tabulations and compare with auxiliary count information 3. Re-expand survey if needed 4. Prepare survey data for mode choice calibration 5. Calibrate mode choice model 6. Compare estimated results to survey results across many dimensions to verify model reflects rider patterns (see next slide) 7. Re-expand survey or re-calibrate if needed

19 Sample Mode Choice Test Geography by Access Mode WALKPBBOMD PB1,1112,2223,333 BO4,4445,5556,666 MD7,7778,8889,999BUSPBBOMDPB1,1112,2223,333 BO4,4445,5556,666 MD7,7778,8889,999 METRO RAIL PBBOMDPB1,1112,2223,333 BO4,4445,5556,666 MD7,7778,8889,999 PNR/ KNR PBBOMDPB1,1112,2223,333 BO4,4445,5556,666 MD7,7778,8889,999 Compare estimated results to survey results across as many dimensions as possible