Determining Optimal Lots for Developing Park-and-Ride Facilities: Case Study of Palm Beach County

Congestion is the major challenge facing transportation engineers; it occurs when demand exceeds the existing road infrastructure capacity. Park-and-ride facilities have become a key strategy in congestion reduction. These facilities encourage transit use by providing travelers an option to park their vehicle and use a high occupancy travel mode. This paper deals with the concept park and ride which is aimed to make every day travel economical and make the public transportation more accessible. The analysis is made to the level of census tract. The population characteristics of various census tracts are analyzed for potential customers for the park and ride facility. In addition to that, the availability of land for park and ride optimal lots and traffic information are also considered to derive at potential sites for park and ride facility.