New Bedford South End Fixed Route System Study – Scope of Work

Introduction

The Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) operates twelve (12) routes that originate from the downtown New Bedford terminal. Three of those routes serve New Bedford’s Downtown, West End, South End, and Clark’s Cove neighborhoods. Recent service changes on the New Bedford Route 5 – South Central (NB5) have resulted in steadily declining ridership that suggests that the route alignment and schedule may not be well matched for the neighborhoods served. Ridership trends on the New Bedford Route 1 – Fort Rodman (NB1) and the New Bedford Route 3 – Dartmouth St (NB3) indicate that the segments towards the ends of the line experience low and infrequent use. Route alignments and schedules have not kept pace with changes in ridership trends and a thorough evaluation of service offerings and service needs are necessary.

Statement of Need

• Analysis of ridership trends on the NB1, NB3, and NB5 routes.
• Analysis of land use and population demographics for the study area.
• Analysis of stop level use in the study area that considers service type, time of day, day of week, and pattern of use.
• Propose alternative alignments, schedule adjustments, and/or new services to increase the use of the fixed route transit system in the study area.
• Evaluation of proposed changes with respect to SRTA Title VI Program requirements.
• An opinion of probable operating costs for each proposed service adjustment to determine whether it is an increase, decrease, or cost neutral operating budget impact.
• Engage riders and non-riders to collect input to inform proposed service changes.