MINNESOTA
URBAN PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
NATIONAL EVALUATION:
SURVEYS, INTERVIEWS, AND FOCUS GROUPS TEST PLAN

U.S. Department of Transportation
Research and Innovative Technology Administration
Federal Highway Administration
Federal Transit Administration

FINAL
November 17, 2009
Publication No. FHWA-JPO-10-009

By
Battelle Memorial Institute
505 King Avenue
Columbus, OH 43201

Prepared for
United States Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20590

Contract No. DTFH61-06-D-00007/ORDER 07-T-08002/WO BA07-041

PDF Version 3.0 MB

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QUALITY ASSURANCE STATEMENT

The U.S. Department of Transportation provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. U.S. DOT periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

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Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No FHWA-JPO-10-009	2. Government Accession No.		3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Minnesota Urban Partnership Agreement: Surveys , Interviews, and Focus Groups Test Plan			5. Report Date November 17, 2009
			6. Performing Organization Code
7. Authors Katie Turnbull, Texas Transportation Institute and Ben Pierce, Battelle			8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Battelle 505 King Avenue Columbus, OH 43201			10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
			11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-06-D-00007/ORDER 07-T-08002/WO BA07-041
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Administration Federal Highway Administration Federal Transit Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, DC 20590			13. Type of Report and Period Covered
			14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes
16. Abstract This report presents the test plan for developing, conducting, and analyzing surveys, interviews, and focus groups for evaluating the Minnesota Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) under the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) UPA Program. The Minnesota UPA projects focus on reducing congestion by employing strategies consisting of combinations of tolling, transit, telecommuting/TDM, and technology, also known as the 4 Ts. Surveys, interviews, and focus groups will be used to identify the potential impacts of the UPA projects, especially on mode change in the I-35W corridor. This report outlines the anticipated surveys, interviews, and focus groups to be conducted to assist in evaluating the Minnesota UPA projects. Information on the stakeholder interviews, MnPASS user surveys, carpooler surveys, telecommuter surveys, on-board ridership surveys, focus groups on the real-time transit and traffic information dynamic message signs, interviews of special groups, and other activities is presented. The purpose and approach, participant recruitment protocol, preliminary questions, analysis methods, and schedule and responsibilities are discussed for the various surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
17. Key Word Urban Partnership Agreement, Congestion Reduction Demonstration, congestion pricing, tolling, HOT, congestion reduction, transit, bus rapid transit, telecommuting, evaluation, surveys, interviews, focus groups		18. Distribution Statement
19. Security Classif. (of this report)	20. Security Classif. (of this page)		21. No. of Pages 122	22. Price

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A number of representatives from the Minnesota partnership agencies provided information critical to the development of the Minnesota UPA National Evaluation test plans. The assistance of Chris McMahon and Ken Buckeye, Minnesota Department of Transportation, and Adeel Lari, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota with the development of the Surveys, Interviews, and Focus Groups Test Plan is both recognized and appreciated. The assistance of Linda Cherrington, TTI, in developing the on-board transit ridership survey plan is also acknowledged and appreciated.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

• 1.1 The Minnesota UPA
• 1.2 Minnesota UPA National Evaluation Plan and the Use of Survey, Interview, and Focus Group Data

• 2.1 Purpose and Approach
• 2.2 Survey Questionnaires
• 2.3 Analysis Methods
• 2.4 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 3.1 Purpose and Approach
• 3.2 Stakeholders to Interview
• 3.3 Interview Questionnaires
• 3.4 Workshop
• 3.5 Analysis Methods
• 3.6 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 4.1 Purpose and Approach
• 4.2 Focus Group Selection
• 4.3 Focus Group Questions
• 4.4 Analysis Methods
• 4.5 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 5.1 Purpose and Approach
• 5.2 On-Board Ridership Surveys Protocol
• 5.3 On-Board Ridership Survey Questions
• 5.4 Analysis Methods
• 5.5 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 6.1 Purpose and Approach
• 6.2 Survey Protocol
• 6.3 Survey Questions
• 6.4 Analysis Methods
• 6.5 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 7.1 Purpose and Approach
• 7.2 Survey Protocol
• 7.3 Survey Questions
• 7.4 Analysis Methods
• 7.5 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 8.1 Purpose and Approach
• 8.2 I-35W South Corridor Interview Protocol
• 8.3 Interview Questions
• 8.4 Analysis Methods
• 8.5 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 9.1 Purpose and Approach
• 9.2 Personnel to Interview
• 9.3 Interview Questions
• 9.4 Analysis Methods
• 9.5 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 10.1 Purpose and Approach
• 10.2 Selection of Individuals to Interview
• 10.3 Interview Questions
• 10.4 Analysis Methods
• 10.5 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 11.1 Purpose and Approach
• 11.2 2008 Omnibus Survey Telecommuting Questions
• 11.3 Future Omnibus Surveys
• 11.4 Analysis Methods
• 11.5 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 12.1 Purpose and Approach
• 12.2 2010 TBI
• 12.3 Analysis Methods
• 12.4 Schedule and Responsibilities

• 13.1 Purpose and Approach
• 13.2 Traffic Management Tools and Interview Questions
• 13.3 Future Perception Tracking Studies
• 13.4 Analysis Method
• 13.5 Schedule and Responsibilities

List of Appendices

List of Tables

• Table 1-1. Relationship Among Test Plans and Evaluation Analysis
• Table 1-2. Surveys, Interviews, and Focus Groups Test Plan Data Elements and Use in Testing Hypotheses/Questions
• Table 2-1. Anticipated Statistical Power for Data Elements, and National Evaluation Measures of Effectiveness from the Humphrey Institute's Surveys
• Table 3-1. List of Stakeholders to Interview
• Table 3-2. Pre-Deployment Interview Questionnaire
• Table 3-3. Post-Deployment Interview Questionnaire
• Table 3-4. Workshop Format
• Table 4-1. Preliminary Questions for Focus Groups on Real-Time Transit and Traffic DMS
• Table 5-1. Transit Routes in the I-35W Corridor
• Table 5-2. Recommended Sampling Plan by Route Category
• Table 5-3. Anticipated Width of 95 Percent Confidence Intervals for Statistical Estimates
• Table 5-4. Anticipated Statistical Power for Testing the Difference in Between Groups in the On-board Rider Surveys
• Table 5-5. Recommended Schedule for I-35W Corridor On-Board Ridership Surveys
• Table 6-1. Recommended Schedule for I-35W MnPASS Users Surveys
• Table 7-1. Recommended Schedule for I-35W Carpoolers Surveys
• Table 8-1. Anticipated Power for Hypothesis Tests and Width of 95 Percent Confidence Intervals
• Table 9-1. Interview Questions for Minnesota State Patrol Officers
• Table 9-2. Interview Questions for FIRST Operators
• Table 9-3. Interview Questions for Metro Transit and MVTA Operators
• Table 9-4. Interview Questions for MVTA Shoulder-Running Guided Bus Operators
• Table 10-1.Interview Questions for Commercial Fleet Services/Operators
• Table 10-2.Interview Questions for Transportation-Sensitive Business Partners
• Table 10-3.Interview Questions for Downtown Minneapolis Business Community Representatives
• Table 13-1.Traffic Management Tools Included in Perception Tracking Studies

List of Figures

• Figure 1-1. General Location of Minnesota UPA Projects
• Figure 1-2. General Timeline for Conducting Interviews, Surveys, and Focus Groups
• Figure 2-1. HSPHD ROWE Commuting Survey

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PUB. NO. FHWA-JPO-10-009

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