Menu

The Rural Transit Fact Book

University North Dakota State University
Principal Investigators Jeremy Mattson
PI Contact Information Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
North Dakota State University
PO Box 6050
Fargo, ND 58108-6050
701-231-5496
Jeremy.w.mattson@ndsu.edu
Funding Source(s) (Amounts provided by each agency or organization) Small Urban and Rural Livability Center– $23,851
North Dakota State University- $11,926
Total Project Cost $35,777
Agency ID or Contract Number  DTRT13-G-UTC46
Report Date 08/01/2016 – 11/30/2016
Brief Description of Research Project Public transportation plays a fundamental role in the livability of all communities. Information on transit service availability and cost is necessary to efficiently and effectively meet rural community mobility needs. Financial and operating statistics can be used by agency managers, local decision makers, state directors, the FTA, and lawmakers to assist in policy making, planning, managing operations, and evaluating performance. Despite the widespread benefits, no regularly-published national rural transit information resource has been previously made available. The Rural Transit Fact Book is being initiated to provide information to assist the transit industry in the United States provide efficient and effective service to rural communities.

The intent of the Rural Transit Fact Book is to serve as a national resource for statistics and information on rural transit in America. This publication includes rural demographic and travel behavior data as well as financial and operating statistics for agencies receiving section 5311 funding. In addition to national level data, statistics are presented by state, FTA region, tribe, and mode, as well as other agency characteristics.

The Rural Transit Fact Book uses agency level data from the Rural National Transit Database (NTD) and rural demographic and travel data from the American Community Survey and the National Household Travel Survey.
Describe Implementation of Research Outcomes (or why not implemented)

 

 The Rural Transit Fact Book was first published in 2011, and annual updates have been published since. The Fact Book is one of the most used sources of information on rural transit.
Impacts/Benefits of Implementation (actual, not anticipated) The Rural Transit Fact Book provides financial and operating statistics that can be used by agency managers, local decision makers, state directors, the FTA, and lawmakers to assist in policy making, planning, managing operations, and evaluating performance.
Web Links/Downloads