Details:

• Creators:
  Atherton, Terry J. ; Eder, Ellyn S.

  Atherton, Terry J. ; Eder, Ellyn S. Less -
• Corporate Creators:
  Cambridge Systematics
• Corporate Contributors:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.) ; United States. Department of Transportation. Urban Mass Transportation Administration. Office of Service and Management Demonstrations ; United States. Department of Transportation. Urban Mass Transportation Administration. Office of Technical Assistance

  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.) ; United States. Department of Transportation. Urban Mass Transportation Administration. Office of Service and Management Demonstrations ; United States. Department of Transportation. Urban Mass Transportation Administration. Office of Technical Assistance Less -
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  [+]

  Bus Lanes Contraflow Lanes High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes Peak Periods Ridership Travel Time Vanpools
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT-TSC-UMTA-82-56;UMTAMA-06-0049-82-12
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.21949/1526693
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Houston (Texas)
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Urban Mass Transportation Administration
• Abstract:
  On August 28, 1979, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) of Harris County in Texas, in cooperation with the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation and the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, began operation of a contraflow lane on the North Freeway as one element of a comprehensive corridor transportation improvement program. Metro's objectives in implementing both the contraflow lane and associated corridor improvements were to: 1) decrease or slow the growth of corridor vehicle miles of travel and associated fuel consumption and vehicle emissions; 2) increase vehicle occupancy in the corridor; 3) reduce congestion and therefore, decrease travel time; and 4) encourage acceptance and usage of public transportation. This report presents an evaluation of the impacts related to contraflow operation of Houston's North Freeway. In the Houston demonstration, a 9.6 mile contraflow lane was available for use by buses and vanpools during the morning and afternoon peak periods. In addition to the contraflow lane, a number of other transportation improvements were also implemented in the North Freeway Corridor. In particular, bus service was expanded considerably and two park-and-ride lots were built and a third leased from a church. This evaluation focuses on the feasibility, in terms of adverse impacts on non-priority users, safety, enforcement, public acceptance, etc., of the contraflow lane. Contraflow operation resulted in a average round-trip travel-time savings of 40 minutes for bus riders and vanpoolers using the contraflow lane during the peak hour. As a result, bus ridership and to a lesser extent, vanpooling increased considerably. The feasibility of contraflow operation as a high occupancy vehicle priority measure was also demonstrated by this project. Appendices A through E in the report are, respectively: Survey Administration and Questionnaires; Contraflow Driver Training Manual; Newspaper Articles, Editorials, and Letters to the Editor; Bibliography; and Report of New Technology.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  DOT-TSC-1405
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  [+]

  urn:sha256:9a2311ceaa65234c56199263a4d903753cdd31454e8f98e9083e5ffbb7f4bb9b
• Download URL:
  /view/dot/10277/dot_10277_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF-13.80 MB]