Morrisville Public Transportation Study

Service & Financial Plan

Service Guidelines Service Design Principles

All transit service should be well designed, regardless of service mode. The recommended smart shuttle was guided by the five service design principles listed below. As Morrisville moves forward with implementation, these principles should be followed. Additionally, any future modifications to the recommended service or new services should follow these service design principles.

Simple Is Better than Complicated: A simple service structure and simple schedules will attract more riders than a complex system. First and foremost, for people to use transit, they must be able to understand it, and simpler services are easier for riders to understand. Simpler systems also help ensure that they get where they want to go when they want to without experiencing frustration and problems. This includes operating service consistently during peak and off-peak times as well as on weekdays and weekends. Likewise, all nodes should be served when service is in operation. Service Should Operate Along a Direct Path: The fewer turns a route makes, the easier it is to understand and improve service speed and reliability. Conversely, circuitous alignments take longer and take customers out of their way. The smart-shuttle software should be designed to ensure the bus does not deviate from the most direct alignment unless there is a compelling reason, such as a road closure or accident. Service Should Serve Well Defined Markets: Nodes should be located around clearly-defined markets. This can help to make service easy to understand, provide a basis for developing fixed-route services, and minimize service duplication, as well as reduce the number of required nodes. Transit Service Should be Focused Around Landmarks: Most potential transit users have a basic knowledge of major landmarks (and are often traveling to them). When transit service is focused around landmarks, and combined with other existing services, they can also become transit hubs. Travelers in an unfamiliar area can more easily find their way to a landmark to make a transfer than to a lesser- known area.

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