Failsafing Operations in Small Urban and Rural Transit Systems

Human error leads to transit service defects that can diminish customer satisfaction, compromise public safety, degrade productivity and stall ridership growth. Since small urban and rural transit systems often lack the resources larger systems enjoy, they cannot afford expensive technology or consultants to help them achieve error-free operations. Needed are low-cost, low-tech tools that managers of small systems can use to failsafe their operations. This research project developed one such tool, The Transit Manager's Guide to Failsafing Customer Service. The methodology contained in this guide was developed in consultation with a manager of a small transit system who wished to mistake-proof paratransit services provided by this system. The manager used the failsafe methodology to identify service problems, discover the causes of these problems, devise failsafe methods to prevent the problems, and assess the effectiveness of individual failsafe methods.