Ridership in the New Orleans region is down, and transit agencies are challenged to increase transit performance. Transit professionals expect many benefits from cooperation between transit systems in the region including an increase in efficiency and effectiveness. The question is "do these cooperative initiatives between transit agencies improve transit performance?" To answer this question a survey has been held to collect data regarding regional initiatives implemented by transit agencies. In addition data were collected from the transit agencies websites. The analysis focused on the comparison between agencies that implemented regional initiatives versus agencies that did not implement any regional initiative. From the analysis it appears that although agencies have implemented cooperative initiatives they are not very convinced that it had a significant impact on transit performance. Further, results show that cooperation might have some positive impact on transit performance, but are not as convincing as literature and transit professionals expect

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Gregory Newmark / Investment, research, and development of autonomous vehicles grows each year. As the years pass, more and more transit agencies are interested in incorporating autonomous vehicles as a public transit service. However, there are still unknowns and uncertainties as to the safety and viability of autonomous vehicles. For transit agencies to incorporate autonomous vehicles in public transit, agencies need to validate the application of autonomous vehicles in real-world scenarios and environments. One option for testing the vehicles is for transit agencies to implement an autonomous shuttle pilot program. A pilot program will give agencies an opportunity to learn if and how autonomous vehicles can enhance or improve transit services. Even though autonomous shuttle pilot programs have been deployed worldwide, there has been little comparative analysis. This report addresses the need for knowledge by providing practical considerations of essential pilot program elements. To assist transit agencies, this report illustrates previously executed autonomous shuttle pilot programs, identifies the core elements of a pilot program, and discusses the relationship between elements. To accomplish these tasks, this report reviews nine European autonomous shuttle pilot programs, literature surrounding the topic, and interviews key personnel associated with the pilot programs. The results of this research help transit agencies make informed decisions about approaching autonomous shuttle pilot programs in public transportation.