Research

Public Transportation as an Emergency Management Tool

The importance of public transportation in a city's emergency operation plans was featured in a paper written by SURTC graduate research assistant Natalie (Beck) Easterday. The article is entitled "Transportation for Evacuations: The Variation in Planning between Urban and Rural Cities." She hopes to have the article published in a transportation journal.

As part of her study, Easterday examined how urban and rural cities use public transportation in their emergency preparedness plans.

Easterday analyzed the emergency plans of eight communities. Four urban communities and four rural communities were chosen from eight different states. The urban communities were Indianapolis, IN; Kansas City, MO; Boulder, CO; and Provo, UT. The rural communities were Hibbing, MN; Muskego, WI; Ankeny, IA; and Centralia, IL.

In evaluating the emergency operation plans, Easterday found that several parallels exist between urban and rural communities in their transportation-related planning.

First, both urban and rural emergency operation plans (EOPs) showed strong initial planning efforts involving hazard assessment. Second, each EOP identified the position responsible for ordering an evacuation. Third, each EOP identified primary and supporting agencies involved in evacuations. Fourth, each EOP identified the channels through which evacuation information would be disseminated.

The differences found in planning were relatively minor and were not directly related to city size. All of the cities, except one rural city, identified public transportation in their EOPs. However, only one city (Kansas City, MO) identified the transportation resources that would be available for use. Only Indianapolis, IN, included a representative from transportation to serve in the emergency operations center (EOC). None of the rural cities had pre-designated evacuation routes.

In addition, six best practices emerged from Easterday's research. These best practices are intended to act as guidelines when incorporating public transportation in emergency evacuation planning:

• Have a transportation provider representative at the EOC during an emergency situation.
• Identify and maintain a list of all transportation assets available during an emergency situation.
• Establish mutual aid agreements in communities with regular transportation service.
• Specify the role of the transit operator.
• Plan for the well-being of the transit operator's family.
• Plan for the return of evacuees using public transportation.

Biodiesel Use in Fargo-Moorhead MAT Buses

SURTC is teaming with the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Transit (MAT) to determine how beneficial biodiesels really are. MAT has been using biodiesel mixed fuels in its buses for more than a year and is examining the effects biodiesel has had on its bus fleet and the Fargo-Moorhead community.

Biodiesel is said to have many benefits. It is homegrown; it reduces America's dependence on foreign oil; and it is renewable. It has been shown to burn cleaner than traditional fossil fuels and therefore substantially reduces emissions of pollutants. It also provides significant reductions in greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Additionally, biodiesel is believed to reduce wear on automotive engines by up to half.

SURTC researcher Del Peterson is working to examine the direct effects of the F-M MAT using biodiesel mixed fuels. MAT and city officials will be interviewed to identify changes they have seen since the switch to biodiesel from both a bus fleet and public relations perspective.

"The goal of this study is to determine the overall effect biodiesel blended fuel has had on MAT's bus fleet as well as the auxiliary effect on the F-M community. Attributes such as fuel economy, ridership, emissions and service records will be analyzed," says Peterson.

SURTC will begin by reviewing the current state of biodiesel in public transportation. This will serve as a premise for MAT's experience as well as a means of comparison. Data analysis will follow with comparisons also drawn from similar transit providers located in other regions of the country.

Getting the Most Out of Small Urban and Rural Transit

SURTC researcher David Ripplinger is studying organization of public transportation services in small urban and rural communities in North Dakota.

Public transportation services are as diverse as the areas they serve and can be very expensive. Diversity of services and tight budgets can often create challenges in overseeing and organizing transit services in nonmetropolitan areas.

This study aims at providing state and regional administrators and policymakers with insight into how various forms of reorganization can help make the most of available resources. While this study focuses primarily on economic benefits, quality of service and preference for local providers are also main concerns.

"When it comes to employing advanced economic concepts to address this issue, there is a gap in rigorous academic research, especially in the context of small urban and rural transit," notes Ripplinger. "In essence, the outcomes will provide insight into the most efficient organization of services, whether that is for each community to have its own services, whether some communities would benefit from collaboration, or whether areas would benefit from regional services."

Quarterly data reported to the North Dakota Department of Transportation by transit agencies has been collected, and a companion survey of transit managers has been done. Ripplinger will apply widely-used tools and framework to this data to explore how services can most efficiently meet varied mobility needs, often spread across large geographic areas with limited resources. Methods used in this study will be replicable in other states and can act as a useful guide for future research.