NextStop Blog

The East-West Gateway Council of Governments is gathering data from all travelers and transit passengers in the metropolitan St. Louis area, and Metro Transit customers may be asked to participate in the regional survey. The purpose of the On-Board Transit Survey is to predict future transportation needs in the region.

The Metro Transit portion of the regional survey will involve two major efforts:  An “on-to-off” survey and a “main” survey.

The “On-to-Off” Survey will involve identifying the locations where riders board and exit each MetroBus route and MetroLink train. The survey will be administered to approximately 30,000 riders.

Starting on February 19, 2013, interviewers from ETC Institute of Kansas City will give a plastic card with a bar code to each passenger as they board MetroBus vehicles or MetroLink trains.  As the rider boards the bus or train, the interviewer will scan the bar code recording the plastic card ID number, route name, direction of travel, latitude coordinates of the boarding location, longitude coordinates of the boarding location, and the time of the scan.

The passenger will be asked to return the card to one of the interviewers when they exit the bus or train. Interviewers will be wearing blue uniforms. (See photo in Rider Alert.)

When the passenger exits the bus or train, the passenger will return the plastic card to one of ETC Institute’s interviewers who will scan the card again. When the card is scanned at the destination, the plastic card ID number, route name, direction of travel, latitude coordinates of the boarding location, longitude coordinates of the boarding location, and the time of the scan will be recorded.

ETC Institute will then match the plastic card ID Numbers that were recorded as “entries” against the plastic card ID Numbers that were recorded as “exits” to link the On and Off locations for each trip.   The results of this survey will be used to develop the sampling plan for the main survey.

The Main Survey will involve gathering detailed information about a rider’s complete trip from the customer’s origin to the destination. This survey will be administered to at least 15,000 Metro customers later in the year. The results of this survey will be used to update the regional travel demand model.