BACKGROUND

Requests to the states by intercity bus carriers for financial aid during the COVID-19 pandemic have raised questions about the role of the intercity bus service. States are obliged to follow the requirements of the Section 5311(f) program concerning the 15% set-aside requirement, including the need for a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) compliant consultation process. 

Many key reference documents regarding the state role and intercity bus service, including TCRP Report 79: Effective Approaches to Meeting Rural Intercity Bus Transportation Needs (2002), were completed decades ago and need to be updated. Since publication of these documents, additional models for intercity bus programs have been developed, such as using the value of connecting unsubsidized intercity bus service as the in-kind required match.

Some states are expanding their roles with branding and marketing for state-funded or state-operated services and developing models that contract services and provide grants to rural operators for feeder routes. Other major developments include the restructuring of intercity bus routes in 2005-06; the growth of curbside bus transportation; the loss of privately owned terminal locations; and the major impact on ridership and revenue resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The intercity bus network is increasingly fragmented and is being reinvented. There is a need to update strategies and determine best practices on the state’s role in administering the FTA intercity bus program mandated by 49 U.S.C. § 5311(f). State program managers and interested stakeholders need to fully understand the options available to them and have tangible examples of successful scenarios and best practices.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is to update TCRP Report 79 and provide strategies and tools necessary to plan, fund, build, deploy, operate, and expand sustainable intercity bus services and facilities. 

RESEARCH PLAN

This research project should include a review of the FTA program requirements, a comprehensive survey of the states regarding their intercity programs with an inventory of the program attributes and the services funded, an analysis of their responses, and the development of recommendations. Proposers shall identify ways to present the information and consider including, but not limiting themselves to, the following. 

• Intercity bus industry 
  • Brief history of intercity bus service
    • Regulation and deregulation
    • Major intercity bus lines downsizing
    • Pooling, fragmentation, brokering, and ticketing platforms
  • Current role of intercity bus service
    • Description of intercity bus service
    • National intercity bus network and its place within the larger transportation system
    • Intercity bus service connecting cities and connecting rural communities
    • Types of services
    • Passengers' limitations (e.g., affordability, disability, inability to fly, lack of driver license, or private vehicle access)
    • People’s ability to access service/discrimination in the siting of bus stops
    • Safety, security, and social services issues affecting passenger’s experience
  • Government regulation: federal (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [FMCSA]/ Surface Transportation Board [STB]), state, and local 
    • Economic regulation
    • Safety regulation (including Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations [FMCSRs])
    • The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) regulation (U.S. Department of Transportation [DOT]/ U.S. Department of Justice [DOJ])
  • Funding programs (federal, state, local, and private)
    • FTA intercity bus program requirements and options (registration, certification, consultation, in kind-match, etc.) 
    • Other DOT eligible programs
• Planning
  • Identifying existing services
  • Identifying state needs
    • State transportation plans, including intercity bus plans
    • Inclusion of intercity bus needs in statewide and metropolitan planning organizations planning documents
    • Passenger data (e.g., demographics, geographic, trip purpose)
  • Service planning
    • Designing routes to be productive (well-used or profitable) vs. designing routes to provide geographic coverage
    • Alternative service designs (e.g., on-call service)
    • Multiple carrier service: interlining (through ticketing) and equipment interchanging (through bus service)
    • Service coordination and connectivity
    • Addressing rural transportation needs
    • Meeting mobility needs through technological advancements and integration of new services
  • Intermodality concerns
    • Intercity bus access to intermodal transportation centers and other hubs, including FTA requirement for reasonable access to intercity buses
    • Intercity bus access to rail stations, airports, ferry, and other vessel terminals
    • Relocation of city-center bus terminals, or their complete closure, and mitigation strategies
  • Tension between public and carriers’ interests
    • Assessing the profitability of the service
    • Equitable access to hospitals, universities, essential services and public amenities
    • Building equitable mobility inclusive of intercity bus services
    • Safety, security, and comfort in accessing bus services
  • Strategies and recommendations to improve and support intercity bus services, including associated feeder services (improved service coordination and connectivity, real-time traveler information, etc.)
• Operational issues
  • Barriers and challenges to using, providing, and improving intercity bus transportation
  • Challenges in funding and serving rural connectivity across state lines
  • “Meaningful connections” at transfer points 
  • Branding of services and marketing
    • Federal, state, and local regulations mandating carrier identification
  • Safety and security
  • Accessibility and equal access components
    • Accessibility requirements, including small mixed-service operators
    • Identification of underserved populations and geographies
• State of the practice
  • Examples of states administering intercity bus programs successfully 
  • Types of performance metrics used, including their purposes
  • Coordination of federal, state, and local mobility investments
• Program management and oversight
  • Traditional models
  • Alternative models 

Proposers should present a project approach and deliverables that would support the development of strategic action plans that can be used by state DOTs, MPOs, and other stakeholders to successfully implement, operate, and expand intercity bus service. 

The research plan shall be divided into tasks that present, in detail, the work proposed in each task. The research plan shall describe appropriate deliverables that include, but are not limited to, the following (which also represent key project milestones):

• An interim report (i.e., a technical memoranda or report) and panel teleconference, which occurs after the expenditure of no more than 40 percent of the project budget,
• Draft report,
• Final report, and
• Technical memorandum, titled “Implementation of Research Findings and Products”.

The research plan may include additional deliverables and panel meetings via teleconference. The research plan shall have a schedule for the project that includes 3 weeks for panel review of the interim report, 3 weeks for panel review of the draft final report, and 3 weeks for contractor revision of the draft final report.  

STATUS: A response has been received for this RFP. The project panel will meet to determine next steps.