Commuter Buses

Specifications and Operational Characteristics

Transit planning boards work with established definitions of commuter buses and their operating routes. When a transportation board or transit company interested in establishing and operating a commuter bus company conducts planning meetings, it has a specification list for commuter buses and their operations. Also called transit buses, city buses, or public buses, commuter buses include low floor, double-decker, articulated, and midibuses (in between a minibus and a full-size bus).

Generally speaking, commuter buses have large and often multiple doors for boarding and exiting. They have bench or bucket seats with no head rests and minuscule or no luggage space. There is equipment to verify tickets or accept fares, electronic signs or roll signs to display destinations, and a pull cord or bus stop request button. They also feature a legal standing-passenger capacity. Modern commuter buses also come equipped with amenities that match the interiors of private cars—the chief competitors of transit buses—amenities that include computer hookups, televisions, DVD players, and Internet capabilities.

Commuter bus routes are fixed and operate primarily in one direction during peak periods; routes are limited in length usually between a central business district and suburbs on the outer edge of the district. The routes feature limited stops and uses multiride tickets. The commuter bus service may also include other services featuring a limited route, limited stops, and a cooperative relationship with another method of transportation.

Public transit authorities, municipal bus companies, and private transport companies on a public contract or fully independent basis are all operators of commuter buses. Often, commuter buses are built to third-party specifications. The operating area of a transit bus can also be defined as a geographic metropolitan area and, for capital cost reasons, some regional size operators may use transit buses interchangeably on short urban routes and longer rural routes. Often transit bus operators feature standard transit buses fitted with coach-type seating for longer distance routes. At times, transit buses can be used as express buses on limited stop or nonstop service at peak times over the same distance as the regular route.

Planning and Implementation

In its guidebook Bus Rapid Transit Service Design Guidelines, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (in San Jose, California) identifies some guidelines for establishing a commuter bus operation or bringing an existing one up to standard. Creating and operating a commuter bus operation involves comprehensive planning. The first step is an initial planning study to determine the feasibility and structure and identify the local commitments necessary for funding, implementing and monitoring the new service. This includes conducting market research to estimate ridership and revenue potential. Identifying and designing route alignments is an important selling point, and designing [Page 389]stations, facilities, and necessary street improvements is an important step as well. Developing an operations plan and implementation schedule is crucial, as is developing a marketing plan and brand management strategy. A transit board needs to determine the length of time the new service will be tested and after that to decide whether to retain, drop, or modify the service.

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