Destinations Matter: Building Transit Success

Accurate estimates of ridership and potential economic benefits are an important element in effective planning. Predictive models are used to estimate ridership and it is essential that the models take into account factors that increase or decrease ridership. This paper examines the performance of eight recent transit projects and analyzes why ridership differs from the model's predictions. An important consideration is the linking of regional destinations along transportation corridors which appears to be critical to achieving predicted ridership and economic benefits.