Citation

Sinha KC, Roemer FP. Transp. Res. Rec. 1974; 487: 13-25.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1974, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper deals with the problem of personal security on bus transit vehicles and its effects on transit ridership. A survey was conducted in Milwaukee, WI, USA along a transit route that has a high degree of transit crime and vandalism. The route chosen traversed a cross section of land uses and neighborhoods of widely different socioeconomic levels. A sample of bus riders and a group of randomly selected households along the chosen corridor were asked to complete questionnaires. The survey result gives give an indication of the relationship between and the relative degrees of passenger perceptions of destructive and personally hostile acts as well as the actual occurrence of such acts. The survey results are analyzed according to the respondents' rates of use of transit service as well as their ages and sexes. The responses are evaluated separately for crime and vandalism. The responses about personal security are further examined in relation to the various service characteristics. The survey results are also analyzed according to the land use and socioeconomic characteristics of the identified zones. It is determined that the degree to which transit crime and vandalism affects transit patronage is related to land use and socioeconomic characteristics of the neighborhoods, but the problem of personal security is less important than such service factors as frequency of service, convenience of routes, fare level, and travel time.

Language: en