Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox Demonstration: Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) OpenTripPlanner, Evaluation Report

Federal Transit Administrationhttps://doi.org/10.21949/15206712021PDFTech ReportMartin, ElliotNichols, AqshemsCohen, AdamShaheen, SusanBrown, LesUniversity of California, Berkeley. Transportation Sustainability Research CenterICFUnited States. Federal Transit Administration. Office of Research, Demonstration, and InnovationUnited States. Department of Transportation. Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITSJPO)United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Transit AdministrationUnited StatesAccessAdvanced traveler information systemsAlternatives analysisDemand responsive transportationEvaluation and assessmentItineraryPublic transitStakeholdersTransportation disadvantaged personsWeb applicationsFTA Report No. 0185DTFH61-16-D-00052LThis report documents the results of an independent evaluation of the Vermont Agency of Transportation\u2019s (VTrans) OpenTripPlanner (OTP), called Go! Vermont, part of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox Demonstration program. The project intended to serve as an alternative to other trip planners by including flexible transit options such as route deviation, dial-a-ride, and other demand-responsive alternatives and to analyze web traffic data to determine the level of user activity attracted by Go! Vermont since its launch. The evaluation compared the trip itineraries of Google Maps and the OTP and explored the inclusion of flexible transit options. Eight hypotheses were evaluated, and expert (stakeholder/project partner) interviews highlighted VTrans partnerships with employment services and vocational rehabilitation to leverage the trip planner for improving access to jobs, training, and healthcare for carless and carlite house-holds. Interviewees noted how the trip planner improved how telephone dispatchers and case workers provided transportation information.120