Many urban transit providers are faced with the problem of declining ridership on traditional fixed route services in low density suburban areas. As a result, most fixed route services in such areas are not economically viable for the transit provider. Ridership levels on such routes could be increased by adding more flexibility to the fixed route structure by replacing the fixed route with a route deviation service. The higher level of service offered by route deviation has the potential to attract non-traditional transit riders. Another reason why transit providers are turning to route deviation is the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, which has brought forth new and greater responsibilities for transit agencies. With the law mandating that certain disabled persons must be provided complementary paratransit service at a nominal cost, public transportation providers were suddenly faced with the challenge of providing traditional fixed-route transit service while also serving individuals with disabilities. There are three categories of paratransit-eligible riders under the ADA: 1. Those who cannot independently board, ride, disembark from accessible vehicles. 2. Those who can independently board and ride an accessible bus but an accessible vehicle is not available for the route and time desired. 3. Those who have a specific impairment that prevent them from boarding or riding a bus. ADA requires that only the first of the three categories be provided service, and only if they want to travel within 3/4 mile of an existing fixed route. To accomplish this, around 550 fixed route systems across the nation have increased or added the availability of paratransit services (Balog, 1997). Consequently, there has been a notable and steady increase in the demand for paratransit by disabled people in the post-ADA era. Since the cost of providing accessible paratransit is definitely higher than the cost of accessible fixed route, the increased demand for paratransit is burdening transit agencies (Balog, 1997). Also, some individuals with disabilities currently using paratransit services could effectively use accessible fixed route services at a lower cost to the transit provider. This has led a number of transit providers to look for new options to encourage paratransit riders to use fixed route services. Most of these options are centered on improving the level of service of fixed route operations and making them more accessible to individuals with disabilities (Balog, 1997). One such option that has been tried by a few transit agencies in rural and suburban areas, with much success, is route deviation service. Route deviation has the potential to meet the challenges faced by urban public transportation providers in a more efficient manner than the current two service practice. Route deviation transit has been used effectively in a limited number of rural and small urban areas of the United States (Rosenbloom, 1996) and some suburban areas. However, it has not been proven to be effective in a large urban area. Currently, the Peninsula Transportation District Commission (Pentran) operates a fixed-route bus system with 13 routes in a service area composed of the cities of Hampton, Newport News and York County. Additionally, Pentran provides paratransit services for the disabled under the mandates of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 53: Operational Experiences with Flexible Transit Services examines transit agency experiences with "flexible transit services," including all types of hybrid services that are not pure demand-responsive (including dial-a-ride and Americans with Disabilities Act paratransit) or fixed-route services, but that fall somewhere in between those traditional service models.

"TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 163: Strategy Guide to Enable and Promote the Use of Fixed-Route Transit by People with Disabilities is designed to help transit agencies fulfill the primary goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) by making mainstream fixed-route bus and rail systems accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. The focus of the Strategy Guide is to offer guidance on providing public services in the most integrated setting possible." -- Publisher's note.

Summarizes information from selected transit agencies about benefits and problems associated with each passenger counting technology, as reported by current users. It also presents advice for agencies considering each technology.

The purpose of this manual is to provide clear and helpful information for maintaining gravel roads. Very little technical help is available to small agencies that are responsible for managing these roads. Gravel road maintenance has traditionally been "more of an art than a science" and very few formal standards exist. This manual contains guidelines to help answer the questions that arise concerning gravel road maintenance such as: What is enough surface crown? What is too much? What causes corrugation? The information is as nontechnical as possible without sacrificing clear guidelines and instructions on how to do the job right.