WTI

Evacuation Preparedness of Public Transportation in Rural Coast Communities of the North Gulf Region

Primary Investigator Contact Information

External Project Contact(s)

Report(s)

1. Evacuation Preparedness of Public Transportation and School Buses In Rural Coastal Communities of the North Gulf Region
   1. Jaydeep Chaudhari
   2. 4W2643_Lit_Review.pdf
2. Evacuation Preparedness of Public Transportation and School Buses In Rural Coastal Communities of the North Gulf Region
   1. Jaydeep Chaudhari, Janelle Booth, Zhirui Ye, David Kack, Benedict Posadas
   2. 4W2643_Final_Report.pdf
3. Executive Summary
   1. Jaydeep Chaudhari, Janelle Booth, Zhirui Ye, David Kack, Benedict Posadas
   2. 4W2643_Executive_Summary.pdf
4. Fact Sheet: Evacuation Preparedness of Public Transportation in Rural Coast Communities of the North Gulf Region
   1. Jaydeep Chaudhari, David Kack, Benedict Posadas
   2. 4W2643_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Project Objective

The objective of this project is to assess the emergency preparedness of public transportation in rural coastal communities in the Gulf Coast region. The assessment will focus on how adequately prepared, and what role public transportation and school districts can play in the event of an emergency evacuation.

Project Abstract

In 2005, devastating hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast of the United States of America, leaving 1,300 people dead, 705 people missing, and destroying over 90,000 square miles of property valued at $80 billion (Nationwide Plan Review-2006). During these natural disasters, coastal communities required mass evacuation and major emergency transportation services, and experienced fuel shortages, traffic congestion, significant delay in civil supplies, frustration and risk during evacuation, and a lack of public transportation for vulnerable populations which literally left them behind. Coastal communities along the I-10 corridor from Florida to Louisiana are predominantly rural. Since the devastating 2005 hurricanes, rural communities within 100 miles of the immediate coastline have experienced rapid growth that has impacted already limited infrastructure. Nearly 40 percent of the country’s transit-dependent population, primarily senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and low-income individuals, live in rural areas. Due to a lack of travel services, rural populations are more automobile dependent than their urban counterparts. When evacuation occurs, rural coastal communities are at high risk and difficult to evacuate in a timely manner due to larger geographical areas, low density and limited resources. Before 2005, public transportation operators in the U.S. did not take the lead on evacuation planning, nor were they viewed as a viable option for evacuation. Now, there is increased national awareness and interest in the role of public transportation in evacuation. Public transportation can perform multiple roles in evacuation and be a successful partner in four tasks of emergency management plans; (1) mitigation, (2) preparedness, (3) response and (4) recovery. Due to public transportation’s capabilities to perform multi-task, it can play an important role in rural communities’ mobilities in emergencies. Now is the time to investigate the role of public transportation and school buses in emergency management for rural areas.

Task Descriptions

1. Literature Review, Data Collection and Analysis
   1. The Literature Review will provide information on planning, implementation and/or operation documents from public transportation systems, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, local emergency management agencies, departments of transportation, etc. The review will focus on the role of public transportation in evacuation, current evacuation practices for rural areas, and lessons observed from recent emergencies evacuations applicable to rural areas.
2. Best emergency management practices for public transportation
   1. Based on lessons learned in the previous tasks, this task will establish best emergency management practices for rural public transportation. The practices may include effective ways to identify and communicate with public transportation dependent people before and after an emergency evacuation, procedures to ensure training and availability of the transit workforce for evacuation assistance programs, ways to mobilize the private sector—rental cars, school buses, non-profit bus organization and private bus fleets—in an emergency.
3. Assessment of rural transit services in terms of emergency preparedness
   1. This task will investigate the local public transportation providers’ preparedness to overcome challenges related to infrastructure and communication, coordination of local, state and federal agencies, legal and social barriers, federal guidelines and funding, and incorporation of evacuation in regular planning. This task will include a survey of local public transportation service providers and spatial analysis for all 28 study area counties.
4. Final Documentation
   1. The final document will be a compilation of tasks 1 to 4 with additional recommendations to improve public transportation services in rural coastal communities and further research requirements. A report and presentation will be produced as final documentation and presented to the Center for Urban Rural Interface Studies at Mississippi State University.
5. Project Management
   1. This task will provide overall management during the course of the project including initial direction and ongoing guidance for research staff, including activities that may assist in promoting communication between WTI and The Center of Urban Rural Interface Studies at Mississippi State University.

Milestones, Dates, Schedule

Student Involvement

True

Relationship to Other Research Projects

False

Technology Transfer Activities

False

Transportation Research Board Keywords

Evacuation Planning, Public Transportation and Evacuation, Rural Evacuation Preparedness

Partners

Center for Urban Rural Interface Studies, Mississippi State University, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)