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Regional Bus Subcommittee - Description

Mission

The mission of the Regional Bus Committee is to provide a permanent process for the coordination of bus planning throughout the Washington region, and for incorporating regional bus plans into the Constrained Long Range Plan (CLRP) and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). High quality bus service in the region depends upon successfully linking vehicles, services, stops and stations, running ways, operating facilities, maintenance shops, storage yards, and passenger and operating support systems to produce a service that is easy to use, provides rider information where and when needed, and facilitates intra- and inter-agency service transfers. Increased customer satisfaction can broaden the appeal of transit in the transportation market place and generate increased ridership. Considerable cooperation among the agencies responsible for bus service and transportation in the region is required to implement these high quality bus services, owing to the complex nature of transit service provision and transportation facility ownership in this multi-state region.

1. Continued review and refinement of the recommendations of the Regional Bus Study completed in 2002, and development of a priority list of near term service implementation strategies for inclusion in annual operations budgets.
2. Coordination and evaluation of CLRP and TIP proposals and amendments with regard to bus transit service plan implementation.
3. Coordination and input definition for the TPB regional travel forecasting model.
4. Technical advice and input regarding regional transportation and land use coordination, including the development of transit assumptions for TPB planning studies.
5. Facilitation of technology transfer and information sharing, as it relates to regional, state and local bus transit services.
6. Coordination with other regional committees regarding bus transit participation in planning and training activities, including the Regional Emergency Support Function (RESF) #1 at COG, and the associated regional transit operators group.
7. Coordination with the TPB Management, Operations, and Intelligent Transportation Systems (MOITS) Task Force regarding integrated planning for bus services and street operations.
8. Coordination with Commuter Connections regarding ridesharing facilities and joint promotional messages.
9. Coordination with the TPB Private Operators Group to strengthen the alliance between public and private interests.
10. Coordination with the TPB Access for All Committee to enhance regional mobility for all populations.

Participation will be encouraged by all members of TPB to support the described planning processes and activities for public transportation activities in the National Capital Region. Participating subcommittee members will ideally be principal transit planners for local, state, and regional agencies.

The subcommittee is chaired for 2013 by Carrie Watters, Frederick County

TPB Staff Contact: Eric Randall.

The subcommittee will coordinate with and engage the following transit services in the Regional Transit Network:

The subcommittee may recommend the establishment under its jurisdiction of special task forces to address particular topics in greater depth, such as transit marketing or priority lanes.

Governance of this committee will follow standard TPB protocols. The subcommittee will be established by the TPB as a subcommittee of the TPB Technical Committee, with a regular meeting schedule and members appointed by the TPB membership. A chair will be selected by the subcommittee members, and a member of the TPB staff will be designated as the lead staff person for the subcommittee. A work activity and budget will be developed for inclusion by the TPB in the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP).

Please Note: In the interest of reducing costs and waste, and "greening" our meetings, the Chair has requested that all meeting attendees RSVP using the COG online meeting management system. This will provide TPB staff with the ability to accurately anticipate how many meals to order and how many copies of handouts to make.

 Activities

Status Report on the Bus Systems in the National Capital Region: This 2008 report provides an overview of the subcommittee’s work to date, and highlights current operational issues and long-range planning needs which have been identified.

2011 Regional Priorities for Bus Services. This activity is intended to identify and document near-term and medium-term priority bus and bus-supportive projects from a regional perspective. The effort promotes regional communication and coordination, as well as informing long-range regional transportation planning efforts. Documents include:

• Appendix of 2011 Bus Project Submissions
• Memorandum to the TPB, May 2011
• Presentation to the TPB, May 18, 2011