U.S. Department of EnergyOffice of Scientific and Technical Information
Onboard Transit Survey - Philadelphia Regional - 2012
Abstract
The main purpose of the survey was to gather current data on how the transit system was being used in 2010. The survey asked passengers a series of questions about their household characteristics and the trip that they were making on the day of the survey. The survey was conducted in three phases between December 2010 and December 2011. Close to 1.1 million unlinked trips are made on an average weekday on all 140 routes systemwide. The survey results suggest several different populations of users. At the low end of the economic spectrum are passengers who really have no other transit option besides public transit. There is also a group of passengers that appear to be somewhat better off financially. They could be categorized as middle-income households, and many of these passengers may have other options for transportation, but they choose to take public transit because it makes sense for them from a financial or time-savings standpoint. Finally, there may be a smaller group of passengers who may live and work downtown in relatively high-paying positions. These passengers can afford to take a taxi but choose to ride transit because of its convenience.
- Authors:
-
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Publication Date:
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- Research Org.:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Idaho National Laboratory
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Vehicle Technologies Office (EE-3V)
- Subject:
- 32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION; accessibility; attitudes and preferences; equity; first/last mile; public transit; transit survey; travel behavior
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1961639
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.15483/1961639
Citation Formats
Team, TSDC. Onboard Transit Survey - Philadelphia Regional - 2012. United States: N. p., 2026.
Web. doi:10.15483/1961639.
Team, TSDC. Onboard Transit Survey - Philadelphia Regional - 2012. United States. doi:https://doi.org/10.15483/1961639
Team, TSDC. 2026.
"Onboard Transit Survey - Philadelphia Regional - 2012". United States. doi:https://doi.org/10.15483/1961639. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1961639. Pub date:Fri Jan 23 19:00:00 EST 2026
@article{osti_1961639,
title = {Onboard Transit Survey - Philadelphia Regional - 2012},
author = {Team, TSDC},
abstractNote = {The main purpose of the survey was to gather current data on how the transit system was being used in 2010. The survey asked passengers a series of questions about their household characteristics and the trip that they were making on the day of the survey. The survey was conducted in three phases between December 2010 and December 2011. Close to 1.1 million unlinked trips are made on an average weekday on all 140 routes systemwide. The survey results suggest several different populations of users. At the low end of the economic spectrum are passengers who really have no other transit option besides public transit. There is also a group of passengers that appear to be somewhat better off financially. They could be categorized as middle-income households, and many of these passengers may have other options for transportation, but they choose to take public transit because it makes sense for them from a financial or time-savings standpoint. Finally, there may be a smaller group of passengers who may live and work downtown in relatively high-paying positions. These passengers can afford to take a taxi but choose to ride transit because of its convenience.},
doi = {10.15483/1961639},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jan 23 19:00:00 EST 2026},
month = {Fri Jan 23 19:00:00 EST 2026}
}