Rail Transit Impact Studies: Atlanta, Washington, San Diego \u2013 Summary Report

003691491982PDFTech ReportDOT-1-82-3Economic impactsLand useTravel demandEconomicsPlanning and ForecastingPublic TransportationWashington (District of Columbia)San Diego (California)Atlanta (Georgia)United StatesUnited States. Federal Transit AdministrationDonnelly, PagetPrice, Williams, and AssociatesUnited States. Department of Transportation. Technology Sharing DivisionFederal Transit Administration 50th AnniversaryThe proceedings of the Transit Impact Studies Conference held in Washington, DC, in September 1981 are summarized. The purpose was to enable representatives from planning agencies currently examining the impacts of new rail transit systems to share their initial findings. Planners from Washington, Atlanta and San Diego reported on findings about their systems while representatives of other agencies and firms with an interest in the subject participated in the discussions. Travel impacts were reported in the areas of transit ridership, mode choice, transit trip purpose, access to transit, geographic distribution of transit use, and travel time and cost. Introduction of the new transit systems resulted in a major increase in travel capacity, along with new transit accessibility which found more users able to use transit for more trips. Significant impacts were also found on land use and economic development patterns. Local land use patterns have been altered to focus development on station areas, and interest has been sparked in some joint development. Because rail systems represent major public investments, their economic impact is significant but all the systems studied are so new that the full results will require later appraisal.85