The Missouri Public Transit Association (MPTA) has commissioned an update to the 2022 Statewide Transit Needs Assessment Study. St. Louis-based Lochmueller Group – a full-service survey, planning, engineering and environmental firm – will lead the update. The firm will examine public transit access across Missouri, identify existing and potential service gaps.
Some study highlights:
- The 2022 study used data from 2015-2019; this update will use data from 2019-2023
- Unmet transit need (trips per year) will be estimated for three service types:
- Large Urban Systems
- Small City Systems
- Rural Systems
- For any unmet transit needs, the cost to meet the demand will be estimated
- Statewide rural needs will be broken down by State House and Senate districts
“Our 2022 Study results demonstrated a gap of more than 39 million rides annually,” commented Kimberly Cella, executive director of the Missouri Public Transit Association. “We want to get a better grasp of the current landscape – have we made a dent in those unmet trips or has the demand grown since 2022.”
The study update is estimated to be completed by April of this year. The MPTA will provide the findings to each of the 30 transit providers in the state of Missouri, the Missouri Department of Transportation, state policy makers and others. It will help in the decision-making process tied to transit funding prioritization, programming needs and the establishment of new and revised local services.