47 Experience has shown that manual data collection via ridechecks is one of the most costejfective data collection methods for most transit systems when evaluating ridership levels and system peiformance. Unfortuna.tely, this manual metlwd of collecting ridership data and system operationa.l information produces both limited systemwide and route specific reports due to the amount of manual ridechecking required and the manual data processing involved. This is especially trne for larger transit

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... systems. One possible alternate solution for a transit system to meet its need for reliable, accurate, detailed, up-to-date, and cost-effectively-obtained ridership data is through the use of automatic passenger counters, or APCs. Unlike manual ridechecks, anAPC system provides a transit system with an automated method for collecting information on the number of passenger boardings and alightings at a variety of system levels including route, route segment, or specific bus stops by time of day and by day of week, for example. This paper provides a general overview of APC systems. Included is a discussion of APC components, a review of typical transit system data needs, a list of current worldwideAPC vendors, the results of a survey ofNorthAmerican transit systems related toAPC usage, and a summarization of important issues for transit systems to consider when contemplating integratingAPC systems on board their vehicles. Vol. 2, No. 2, 1999 Efficient and effective public transit service delivery depends on the interplay of a multitude of internal and external factors, but in large part depends on accurate information collected about transit ridership and overall transit system operations. When provided with information about the transit system, the system's overall performance and performance of individual routes and route segments can be assessed with great accuracy by system planning, scheduling, and management staff. Accurate and comprehensive ridership data will indicate areas of strength and weakness in transit operations and will support and justify the corrective efforts established by transit agency staff. Historically, the data most appropriate for examining the performance of a transit system have been obtained from manually-derived passenger ridechecks (a ridecheck is a ride, usually on a transit bus, on which staff manually tabulates the number of passenger boardings and alightings at each stop by time of day, tracks ontime performance, and observes the operator's skills and compliance with rules and standards). Generally, these ridechecks reveal peak passenger loads by bus stop and run times on a specified route. The ridechecks also show the demand for the service at the time, location, and direction of that demand using these data. Frequency and running time decisions can be made so that the supply of service corresponds precisely with the actual demand for that service. This will provide optimal economies to the transit system and, hopefully, improve the provision of transit service to the system's customers. Experience has shown that many transit systems use labor-intensive manual ridechecks during specific service periods to collect ridership (number of boardings and alightings at the stop level) and operational data such as run times. Currently, this is one of the most cost-effective data collection methods for most transit systems. Unfortunately, this manual method of collecting ridership data and system operational information produces both limited systemwide and route specific reports due to the amount of manual ridechecking required and the manual data processing involved. This is not to say, however, that processing this limited amount of manually-collected information into reports does not provide beneficial information to Vol. 2, No. 2, I 999 Journal of Public Transportation Transit System Survey To identify current APC technologies/vendors, a brief 13-question APC-related survey was developed and faxed to 41 transit agencies in the United States and Canada to determine if they have ever used or are currently using APC technology, the type of technology employed (if applicable), the vendor of the technology, uses for the ridership data once collected by the APC system, and the accuracy of the ridership data collected by the APC system, among other information. The survey was sent to the planning director or applicable position or the APC technician, where identified, within each transit agency. Of the 41 transit systems surveyed, nine were Canadian properties.