A DEMAND-RESPONSIVE TRANSIT SYSTEM MUST BE BASED ON DISCRIMINATING ANALYSIS OF THE NEEDS OF POTENTIAL PATRONS AND OTHER INTEREST GROUPS. A METHOD IS DISCUSSED FOR QUANTIFYING THIS ANALYSIS AND MAKING IT PERTINENT TO SYSTEM DESIGN. A QUESTIONNAIRE IS DEVISED THAT PROVIDES A CONTINUUM FROM PATRON RESPONSES TO SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS AND DESIGN VARIABLES. THE SURVEY METHOD IS BASED ON A SCALE OF PREFERENCE INTENSITY AND ON STATISTICAL CORRELATION OF RESPONSES TO SEMANTICALLY RELATED (PAIRED) QUESTIONS IN WHICH INTERVIEWEES ARE ASKED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN TWO DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM. SURVEY AND PAIRED-QUESTION CONSTRUCTION ARE ILLUSTRATED. ANALYTIC TECHNIQUES AND SURVEY APPLICATIONS ARE DESCRIBED. NINE STEPS INVOLVED IN THE INTEGRATION OF THIS METHOD WITH DESIGN AND MARKETING FOR CIVIL SYSTEMS ARE DISCUSSED AS PARTS OF A PROCESS OF MODELLING, EVALUATION, AND DECISION-MAKING.