Report on the Potential for Integrating Rail Service Provided by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation with Other Modes

摘要

The report is in response to Section 17 of the Amtrak Improvement Act of 1974 which directed the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study 'on the potential for integrating rail service provided by the National Railroad Passenger Corportion (Amtrak) with other modes of transportation including buses, with particular attention to the needs of rural areas.' Relevant aspects of Amtrak and the intercity bus systems are examined to indicate the potential for integration growing out of the characteristic, performance, economic, social, and institutional arrangements of these two modes. Several significant areas of difficulty in developing an integrated system are uncovered; not the least of which is the costs to both modes which would result. The number of bus or rail passengers who would probably respond to the integrated rail-bus system is minimal based upon the concentration of populations within the appropriate concentric isotime zones required to get to the railroad station. The length of time of access to the station may be only a small fraction of the total travel time or the passengers will not use the integrated rail-bus system.