Transportation, Equity, and Access to Bus Transit

Introduction: The goal of public transportation agencies is to provide safe, efficient, and reliable service for passengers to reach their homes, jobs, shopping and other destinations. In order to maintain and increase ridership levels, transit agencies must strive to ensure the physical safety of their passengers. This need for safety applies for both passengers on board the vehicle, as well as when they are accessing the system at a transit stop. Transit users frequently confront a lack of sufficient infrastructure for walking and bicycling to bus transit stops. Bus stop locations are often in need of significant improvements to improve the overall safety and comfort of transit users, and inadequate street crossing infrastructure can make it difficult for a transit rider to safely reach a transit stop—this is particularly true for riders who do not own cars. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) provided funding in 2011 for the development of the Durham Pedestrian and Bicycle Access to Transit Plan, which focuses on improving the safety, access and comfort of transit users along three transit corridors in the city’s central core area. A bond referendum passed for Durham County in October 2011, made funding available to add to federal and state funding for roughly $6 million in improvements within these three transit corridors. Potential improvements include the construction of sidewalks, improvements at transit centers, and improvements at bus stops, (e.g. the provision of level landing surfaces, bus shelters, and benches, etc.) This funding opportunity prompted the City of Durham to more thoroughly examine infrastructure needs at transit centers and stops and provide funding for the plan. As the plan was not formally adopted at the time of publication of this article, the recommendations summarized in this article are general in nature.1 The following synopsis includes information about how the plan was developed, significant variables for evaluation, public involvement methods, and preliminary recommendations