Runaround user-side subsidies for mass transportation in Danville, Illinois

Technical Report · Tue Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:6873827

Koffman, D; Bloomfield, P

This report documents the results of a two-year UMTA Service and Methods Demonstration (SMD) project in Danville, Illinois, testing the application of the user-side subsidy concept to fixed-route transit. Service was provided by private contractors who were selected on a competitive basis every four months. Payment based on the number of prepurchased tickets used by passengers to pay for rides and then turned over to the city was intended to create an incentive for designing and providing good, low-cost service, tailored to the existing demand. The system proved workable. Total costs were comparable to those of similar-size systems operating under more-conventional arrangements, although administrative cost may be higher under the user-side subsidy. Only two providers participated, indicating a lack of effective competition; although, on most routes, good service appears to have been supplied at a reasonable cost. The major provider adopted a very conservative negotiating position with the result that payment was effectively on a fixed-price rather than per-passenger basis.

• Research Organization: Department of Transportation, Washington, DC (USA). Research and Special Programs Administration
• OSTI ID: 6873827
• Report Number(s): UMTA-IL-06-0034-80-1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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