Quick Take: International Transit Systems Inform Models for US Cities to Adopt

Active Trans Illinois took stakeholders to Germany to learn about their transportation system and bring the lessons home.  

Here are the takeaways they published on their blog.

1. “Their motto is “one network, one timetable, one ticket.” Information is integrated and the whole system is oriented around the rider.
2. “Mobility doesn’t end at the city boundaries.” They organize, integrate, and fund their system regionally with that mentality – not by one-off projects or happy coincidences.
3. “We (the organizations operating transit) collectively compete with the car, not with each other.” Increasing mobility options and mode shift are the focus. Eyes on the prize.

What’s the result?

• High service availability: Very frequent, all-day, bi-directional service with regular connections by design.
• High service integration: Timed, cross-platform intermodal transfers, with minimal infrastructure required
• Focus on the user experience:
  • Integrated fares
  • Integrated schedule
  • Integrated customer information”

Officials from the San Francisco agency recently went to Switzerland to study their regional transit network, which was part of the influence behind the timed transfers between agencies. Seamless Bay Area reported in their blog. This 2022 report highlights the practices of Swiss transit managers to integrate timetables, use service-based planning and fare integration to build world-class transit.  

Here are the takeaways and highlights on Seamless Bay Areas blog. 

1. Focus on the customer, and recognize varied travel needs.
2. Successful collaboration between regions and operators is built on clear role definition.
3. Treat transfer as the ‘base case’, not the ‘edge case’.
4. Give street level public transit priority over private vehicles.
5. High service levels underpin the success of all other strategies.
6. Invest in capital and operations strategically based on a long range service vision.
7. Proceed with large capital projects once full costs and risks are known.
8. Public ownership of rail and transit rights is important.
9. Bold and deliberate policy changes were part of a clear ‘pivot’.
10. A virtuous cycle of increasing investment and ridership are achievable.