Open Platform to Attract, Organize, and Coordinate Volunteers for Rural and Small Urban Transit

One of the most critical challenges facing rural and small urban transit agencies in the U.S. today is the scarcity of available funds. Although volunteers can help transit agencies reduce operational costs, the barriers to volunteerism, such as difficulties attracting and coordinating volunteers and addressing liability issues, inhibit the widespread use of volunteers by transit agencies. This project will provide a decision support system that transit agencies can use to attract, organize, and coordinate volunteers to provide transportation services to customers. The system will essentially be a two-sided application platform (one for volunteers and one for transit agencies) with an optimization matching engine that will guide the pairing of volunteers with specific transit-related tasks. The project team will develop the system, test it, and advance it to a prototype support platform for application and potential commercialization. The platform has the potential to help transit agencies attract and recruit volunteers, including younger volunteers, and involve them in a number of transit operational activities. The platform is also expected to improve allocation of resources, facilitate cost reductions, and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of transit operations. Furthermore, the platform can help transit agencies provide more personalized services to meet the mobility needs of their customers.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4923

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $99888
• Contract Numbers:

  Project J-04, IDEA 97

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Transit Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Transit Cooperative Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001
• Project Managers:

  Fitzpatrick, Velvet

• Performing Organizations:

  West Virginia University

  ,    
• Principal Investigators:

  Pyrialakou, V

• Start Date: 20200218
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Decision support systems; Prototypes; Transit operating agencies; Volunteers
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01730925
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project J-04, IDEA 97
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Feb 18 2020 7:37AM