UConn Public Transit Study

In 2009, ReMain Nantucket commissioned a formal study by University of Connecticut's Center for Transportation and Urban Planning to better understand attitudes about the use of public transportation during the summer season, to identify and quantify the barriers that exist, and to develop a set of recommended strategies for increasing the use of public transit.

At a well-attended presentation at The Atheneum in December 2009, Norman W. Garrick, an Associate Professor and Director of The Center for Transportation and Urban Planning at the University of Connecticut, praised Nantucket's seasonal bus system and said it was reliable, clean and safe and is rated highly by its users. "The existing bus system is well-run and well-designed," said Dr. Garrick. "I was very impressed when I arrived to begin my work."

Garrick's team was on-island at three different times the summer of 2009, surveying public attitudes towards transportation. Overall, the team gathered the views of 742 people. His report at The Great Hall was a chance for the public to hear some of his conclusions.

ReMain has followed up on several of Garrick's recommendations, outlined in his report summary "A Plan for Growing Transit on Nantucket", by continuing to work with NRTA on enhancing the visibility of the system and by funding research through Nelson/Nygaard on new directions for managed parking.

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