How Do People Receive Information About Public Transit?

Providing transit information helps passengers adapt when service is unreliable and has been shown to decrease wait times, reduce overall travel time, increase ridership, increase satisfaction with transit, and increase perceptions of personal security. However, to date, there is limited evidence for how riders prefer to access and use transit information. A variety of methods are available, including websites, apps, signage, and transit ambassadors or drivers, but which methods of information are most used by riders and how does it differ by the type of rider and type of trip? Riders need real time information to be accurate, but how does inaccurate information impact their trip? In addition, how do riders plan their travel pre-trip, such as understanding hours and frequency of service, finding the stop, and understanding payment mechanism? This research aims to explore how both transit riders and non-riders access public transit information for the purpose of planning and taking trips on transit to answer these questions. This work will improve understanding of customer perspective to aid agencies in providing better transit rider information in a cost-effective manner, thus improving the long-term viability of the transportation system by increasing demand for transit.

• Record URL:
  • https://ncst.ucdavis.edu/project/how-do-people-receive-information-about-public-transit

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $140,054.00
• Contract Numbers:

  DOT 69A3552348319

  DOT 69A3552344814

  Caltrans 65A1369

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  California Department of Transportation

  1227 O Street
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95843
• Managing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  1 Shields Ave
  Davis, California  United States  95616
• Project Managers:

  Cliff, Sydney

• Performing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  1 Shields Ave
  Davis, California  United States  95616
• Principal Investigators:

  Watkins, Kari

  Pike, Susan

• Start Date: 20260401
• Expected Completion Date: 20270228
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Information services; Public transit; Real time information; Transit riders
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01987974
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Center for Sustainable Transportation
• Contract Numbers: DOT 69A3552348319, DOT 69A3552344814, Caltrans 65A1369
• Files: UTC, RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Apr 28 2026 11:12AM