Rising demand for parking at suburban transit stations, such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District in California, necessitates strategies to manage traveler demand. To better manage parking supply, researchers implemented a smart parking field test at the Rockridge BART station from 2004 to 2006 to evaluate the effects of smart parking technologies (changeable message signs (CMSs), Internet reservations and billing, mobile phone and personal digital assistant communications, and a wireless parking lot counting system) on transit ridership and response to service pricing....
Caroline Rodier, PhD, Susan Shaheen, PhD, and Amanda Eaken
2005
This paper presents early findings from an application of advanced parking technologies to increase effective parking capacity at a transit station during the first half of 2004 in the San Francisco Bay Area (California). It begins with an extensive review of the literature related to transit-based smart parking management systems to illustrate the range of system configurations and their potential travel, economic, and environmental effects. Two important conclusions from this review are: (1) lack of parking spaces at transit stations may be a significant constraint to transit use,...
This paper presents an evaluation of the first transit-based smart parking project in the US at the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District station in Oakland, California. The paper begins with a review of the smart parking literature; next the smart parking field test is described including its capital, operational, and maintenance costs; and finally the results of the participant survey analysis are presented. Some key user response results are: (1) most participants used the smart parking system 1–3 days a month for commute travel and (2) 37% of respondents had seen...
The number of senior citizens is expected to double by the year 2020, representing 18% of the nation’s population. After age 75, driving performance begins to decline due to changes in health and medication effects. Indeed, one quarter of seniors over 75 are expected to require alternative transportation services in the future. This chapter examines transit and innovative mobility options to better meet the needs of the growing older population in the near (2011) and more distant (2021) future. Barriers to transit use among older adults include anxiety and confusion about using...
In Parking and the City, urban planning Professor Donald Shoup of the University of California, Los Angeles makes a persuasive case that an oversupply of free parking, off-street parking minimums, and other policies contribute to increased congestion and higher housing costs. Shoup makes the economic case that these policies both subsidize and conceal the true costs of driving and contribute to inequity and...
Susan A. Shaheen, Ph.D., Caroline J. Rodier, Ph.D., and Joshua Seelig
2005
The integration of innovative technologies with traditional modal options in transit oriented developments (TODs) may be the key to providing the kind of high-quality transit service that can effectively compete with the automobile in suburban transit corridors. The EasyConnect II project represents a multi-technology integration of innovative strategies planned to enhance transit use during the development and construction of a suburban TOD at the Pleasant Hill Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District station in the East San Francisco Bay Area. The project team represents a unique...
Susan A. Shaheen, Ph.D. and Caroline Rodier, Ph.D.
2006
The EasyConnect Low-Speed Modes Linked to Transit Planning Project (TO 5113) project represents the integration of innovative strategies to enhance transit use during the development and construction of a suburban transit oriented development at the Pleasant Hill Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District station in the East San Francisco Bay Area. This planning project brings together a unique partnership including small technology businesses, transportation agencies, city and county government, and academia. The project components include the introduction of shared-use low speed mode...
Susan A. Shaheen, Ph.D. and Caroline J. Rodier, Ph.D.
2008
Access from public transit stations to employment and home locations can be a significant barrier to public transportation use in many urban regions, which is also commonly known as the “first and last mile” problem. The EasyConnect field test operated from August 2005 to December 2006 to introduce shared-use electric bicycles, non-motorized bicycles, and Segway® Human Transporters (HTs) to employment centers in and around the Pleasant Hill BART District stations. EasyConnect linked 36 employees of 14 companies at the Contra Costa Centre and Fresenius Medical. Contra Costa Centre...
Susan A. Shaheen, PhD, Caroline Rodier, PhD, Tagan Blake, Jeffrey R. Lidicker, and Elliot Martin
2009
Smart growth policy strategies attempt to control increasing auto travel, congestion, and vehicle emissions by redirecting new development into communities with a high-intensity mix of shopping, jobs, and housing that is served by high-quality modal alternatives to single occupant vehicles. The integration of innovative technologies with traditional modal options in transit-oriented developments (TODs) may be the key to providing the kind of high-quality transit service that can effectively compete with the automobile in suburban transit corridors. A major challenge, however, of such...
