HomeMy WebLinkAboutNCTCOG Communter Rail TRE Ridership Survey 2003 .01‘*/ \i\k\
North Central Texas Council Of Governments
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January 17, 2003 V
The Honorable Mary Saleh
Mayor
City of Euless
201 North Ector Drive
Euless, TX 76039
Dear Mayor Saleh:
Enclosed please find a copy of the report for the 2002 Trinity Railway Express (TRE)
Ridership Survey. The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG)
conducted the survey on Tuesday, May 7, 2002, and Wednesday, May 8, 2002 on
behalf of Euless and the other eight cities that contribute to the operation of the TRE.
As reflected in the report, ridership observed during the two-day survey was in step with
that reported by the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (the T) for May 2002, and within
the range modeled by NCTCOG. As expected, the CentrePort station reported the
highest level of activity among the stations from Richland Hills to South Irving. In
addition to sharing the results of the survey with the nine mayors, the report findings
have been presented during meetings of the Surface Transportation Technical
Committee, Regional Transportation Council, the T Executive Committee, TRE Advisory
Committee and the NCTCOG Executive Board.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or comments on
the enclosed information.
Sincerely,
44-4,(4 V\,o-v3 (‘4% 05
Michael Morris, P.E. y'(A
Director of Transportation 0 rA
MLB:cs 60
01,111)
Enclosure
cc: Joe Hennig, City Manager •�
2002-2003 UPWP Element 5.01 Project File I w l0.11
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616 Six Flags Drive,Centerpoint Two
P.O.Box 5888,Arlington,Texas 76005-5888
(817)640-3300 FAX:817-640-7806 ®recycled paper
http://www.dfwinfo.com
TRINITY RAILWAY EXPRESS
2002 Ridership Survey
Background
The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) is jointly operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and
the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T). Service began in 1996 between downtown
Dallas and Irving. In September 2000, service expanded westward with the opening of the
CentrePort, Hurst/Bell, and Richland Hills stations. The Intermodal Transportation Center(ITC)
and Texas and Pacific (T&P) station opened in December 2001. Future plans call for the TRE
service to extend into southwest Fort Worth. All of the TRE line and stations are within the
boundaries of the two existing regional transportation authorities.
Trinity Railway Express Rail Corridor
DFW
TRE AIRPORT
a \ / 12 —
EULESSNION ARE ZONE t14
z t
BL
y DEDFORD 0 CARTER BOUNDARY�1� , (3%
t:onnt ®—�
ruc in ANo
�1 �[ttats 83 HURST - Ty[ Irving (
_�� tttt�''''^ /A/CH r Ce trePorU mouth Medical)
Fort Worth �n Hurst/ OF /Airport m Irving Market Center
Inierntodnl I Rlchla d Hills Bell ® ORA'O i rtTvtnc �•
Transportation I� PRA/RE m
Center i — - 17 Victor/ory Station Dallas
ARUNGTON ' o Vict /Stration Union
T&P `.� 1 b0 Station
temporary piatfam fa
Station FORT , _ _--� eastboundspeclal event trains a4l
LAS
WORTH1131 ( q)Source: Trinity Railway Express, 2002.
Nine cities, who currently are not members of the existing regional transportation authorities,
contribute towards the operation of the TRE. These cities include Arlington, Bedford,
Colleyville, Euless, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Haltom City, Hurst, and North Richland Hills.
During the Summer of 2001, the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG)
entered into interlocal agreements with each of the cities for the collection of these funds in
fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004. The allocation of costs for eight of the nine cities is fixed
based on modeled opening day ridership. The City of Grand Prairie opted to float their amount
based on subsequent ridership surveys.
2002 Ridership Survey
The 2002 Ridership Survey was conducted on Tuesday, May 7 and Wednesday, May 8 on
behalf of the nine cities contributing operating funds to the TRE. The two-day effort consisted of
the following components: On Board Survey, Passenger Survey, and License Plate Survey.
Over 60 NCTCOG staff members conducted the On Board and Passenger Survey components.
Staff was organized into 12 teams that rode every train, beginning as early as 4:58 a.m. to as
late as 12:34 a.m., over the two-day period. The On Board Survey consisted of staff counting
passengers as they boarded at each station. In addition, staff distributed and collected a five
question Passenger Survey. The License Plate Survey was conducted on Wednesday, May 8
•
Exhibit 2: Ons/Offs By Station
3,000
•
i'-
2500 TOTAL
a) , En Ons: 6,747 -r
EC • Offs: 6,747
• 2,000 ;
a -
Y
y 1,500
a> 1,000
a' Soo
r1■ : ITS
S\° rya .* Q° °C oe , cs.
co Je
Q° G2o Ga
a`
Stations �e
Exhibit 3: Segment Volumes
7,000 -
L=i Survey
i 6,000 ■ Modeled -_ - . .
a)
a
ce 5,000
-a 4,000
—1ErI
0 �,
�r
c�° �° r\a ,ee° Al- o ek t-
� < g � J°
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OP
$ • 'Z'
Stations <5.e'
3
Survey Results/Implications/Conclusions
Results/Implications/Conclusions from the 2002 Ridership Survey are:
The City of Grand Prairie's contribution for fiscal year 2002 will be adjusted
downward based on the results of the 2002 Ridership Survey. This is in
accordance with the terms of the interlocal agreement.
Results of the 2002 Ridership Survey have been shared with various policy and
technical committees, as well as other interested parties: NCTCOG's Executive
Board, Regional Transportation Council, Surface Transportation Technical
Committee, DART, The T, TRE, and the media.
The Fall 2003 survey will likely be a license plate survey. It validated very well to
the more intensive 100 percent On Board Survey.
Current and future survey results impact future interlocal agreement negotiations.
The City of Richland Hills, a member of The T since 1992, welcomed the TRE to
Tarrant County with the opening of the Richland Hills Station. During their
December 10, 2002 meeting, the City Council voted to call an election in
February 2004 to withdraw from The T. It is anticipated that this dataset may be
used to identify the number of Richland Hills residents typically using the TRE.
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