Rural Community Transit Strategies: Building on, Expanding, and Enhancing Existing Assets and Programs

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Date Created
2023-02
Report Number
2023-08
Description
This project involved the development of innovative sharing-economy strategies to address rural transit challenges in Greater Minnesota. Many transit services and transportation network companies (TNC’s) like Uber and Lyft do not provide services to commuters outside metro areas, forcing most residents in Greater Minnesota to own automobiles. Meanwhile, many communities have school bus systems and substantial vehicle capacity that remain parked and unused much of the day. This project uses a human-centered design approach to engage a community in Greater Minnesota with a population of less than 10,000 people to develop a pilot for rural community transit that could be a model for similar communities across the state. The research seeks to answer the question of whether a shared, mobility services approach to rural transit transportation in Greater Minnesota could meet people's needs at a lower cost, with more convenience, and with greater positive impacts on the local economy than current transit practices and services. Our research developed a menu of strategies that uses existing community assets to promote walking, biking, car sharing, bus sharing, and car and van pooling.

MN 2050 State of the Infrastructure Survey - Data Book

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Date Created
2015-10
Description
In partnership with MN2050, Wilder Research conducted an online survey for the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) that included engineers from 264 jurisdictions across the state of Minnesota, including cities, counties, and two state agencies; Metropolitan Council and MnDOT. The goals of this ‘State of the Infrastructure’ survey are: 1) to learn to what degree city, county, and state agencies are using asset management practices to manage the infrastructure assets in Minnesota, and 2) to build and share collective knowledge regarding the types, condition, and value of infrastructure assets in Minnesota. This data book includes data from the first survey, which was conducted in spring-summer 2015.

MN 2050 State of the Infrastructure Survey - Executive Summary

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Date Created
2015-10
Description
The goals of the ‘State of the Infrastructure’ survey are: 1) to learn to what degree city, county, and state agencies are using asset management practices in Minnesota, and 2) to share collective knowledge regarding the wide range of infrastructure types and condition of infrastructure assets in Minnesota. In partnership with MN2050 and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), Wilder Research developed a web survey that asked about asset management practices.