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PREPARED FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS
DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Transit Access Follow-Up Report
December 2013
DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Transit Access Follow-Up Report
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | i
Table of Contents
Page
Background................................................................................................................................. 1
Key Findings.................................................................................................................................................. 1
Additional Issues .......................................................................................................................................... 1
Near-Term Transit Needs and Opportunities .............................................................................. 2
New Ridership Opportunities .................................................................................................................... 3
Strengthening Existing Ridership ............................................................................................................... 3
Issues to Address .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Service Alternatives ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 18
Inter-City Transportation: A Changing Market .......................................................................... 19
Inter-City Bus Renaissance ....................................................................................................................... 19
The Arrival of High Speed-Rail .............................................................................................................. 22
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 25
Table of Figures
Page
Figure 1 Southgate Plaza Site Plan ...................................................................................................... 2
Figure 2 Home Zip Codes of Transit Users Traveling to DFW Airport ........................................... 4
Figure 3 Corridor Anchors: CentrePort and Southgate ..................................................................... 5
Figure 4 Potential TRE Shuttle Routing through Southgate Plaza .................................................... 7
Figure 5 Rental Car Shuttle Passengers per Hour – 5/20/2013 ................................................. 10
Figure 6 Rental Car Shuttle Passengers per Trip – 5/20/2013 .................................................. 11
Figure 7 Terminal Destination of TRE Shuttle Riders – May 2012 ................................................ 12
Figure 8 TRE Shuttle Ridership per Hour – July 2011 ..................................................................... 12
Figure 9 TRE Shuttle Extension to Terminal E ..................................................................................... 14
Figure 10 Revenue Hour Impact of Service Modifications ................................................................ 15
Figure 11 Routing Alternative C1 (Green) and C2 (Blue) for TRE Shuttle Serving Southgate Plaza and Remote South Parking .................................................................... 17
Figure 12 Implications for Alternative Routings ................................................................................... 18
Figure 13 Annual Change in Inter-City Bus Departures ..................................................................... 19
Figure 14 Small Regional Jet at DFW Airport (with Larger Planes in Background) .................... 20
Figure 15 Regional Jet at DFW Airport (with Larger Planes in Background) ............................... 24
DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Transit Access Follow-Up Report
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 1
BACKGROUND
In the fall of 2012, Nelson\Nygaard completed the Dallas/Fort Worth International
Airport Transit Service Planning Study. The principle purpose of the study was to
examine how well DFW Airport is prepared for the arrival of Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s
Orange Line and The Fort Worth Transportation Authority’s TEX Rail, which will both
provide passenger rail service to the Airport’s central terminal area.
Key Findings
The key findings of the study were that the existing airport circulators are generally well-
positioned to accommodate the expected passenger loads of the new rail services. When
the Orange Line begins revenue service in December 2014, passengers will arrive at a
station located between International Parkway and the northbound Service Road,
adjacent to Terminal A. A 435-ft. walkway will link the station to the terminal.
Connections to the Airport’s four other terminals are provided by the Skylink automated
people-mover system and the Terminal Link bus circulator system.
The Skylink people-mover system is the fastest way to move between terminals, but the
system's secure-side location limits ridership to the of the following groups:
Terminal-area employee with badge access;
American Airlines passengers. American Airlines currently operates out of
terminals A, B, C, and D at DFW airport, and passengers may check in at any
American Airlines kiosk or ticket counter to receive the boarding pass needed to
pass through security; or
Passengers of other airlines with a pre-printed boarding pass, and no luggage to
check.
In addition, airline passengers who arrive at a terminal other than Terminal A and leave
the secure side of the terminal for any reason, including to collect checked luggage, will
no longer be able to access Skylink to connect to Terminal A. Instead, these passengers,
and those not meeting the access requirements described above will need to use the
Terminal Link shuttle bus system to travel between terminals.
Terminal Link operates outside of security on the airport roadway network. Service is
frequent (every 8 to 10 minutes) and bi-directional, meaning that each terminal is at most
two terminals away from where a passenger boards a Terminal Link bus. Terminal Link
generally has two stops at each terminal, but a third stop is planned at Terminal A near
the walkway to the Orange Line station.
Over-all, our analysis concluded that with some slight modifications (including the third
Terminal A station and possibly the introduction of larger vehicles when TEX Rail service
begins), Skylink and Terminal Link will fit the roles of “last mile” connectors for rail
passengers.
Additional Issues
At the conclusion of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Transit Service Planning
Study, several additional issues with potential Airport and transit implications were
raised. These issues include a new mixed-use development, called Southgate Plaza,
DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Transit Access Follow-Up Report
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 2
planned for the south side of DFW Airport, on-going efforts to bring high-speed rail to the
state and the region, and the continued growth of inter-city bus travel in the United
States. This document examines these additional issues and provides analysis and case
studies for consideration.
NEAR-TERM TRANSIT NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES
In May 2013, DFW Airport broke ground on the Southgate Plaza development, located
east of International Parkway, just south of the DFW Rental Car Center (Figure 1). The
mixed-use project will be anchored by a new consolidated headquarters building for DFW
Airport staff, and a 137-room Hyatt Place hotel. The project will also include several
restaurants and the airport’s relocated main post office.
Figure 1 Southgate Plaza Site Plan
Source: DFW Airport
From a development perspective, Southgate Plaza creates new revenue opportunities for
DFW Airport and its partner cities. It is also the airport’s first mixed-use development
and may set the tone for future projects on the Airport’s developable land. From a transit
perspective, Southgate Plaza has the potential to be a “game-changer,” in several
significant ways.
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New Ridership Opportunities
Within the next two years, approximately 500 DFW Airport employees will move to the
Airport’s new headquarters building at Southgate Plaza. The majority of these employees
will be relocating from either the DFW Business Center, located between the northbound
and southbound lanes of International Parkway, or from the DFW Administration
Building, located along South Airfield Drive. Neither of these existing facilities is served
directly or within a reasonable walking distance of transit.
The design and location of Southgate Plaza make the development more conducive to
transit service than either the DFW Business Center or the existing DFW Administration
Building. Linking Southgate Plaza to the intra-airport and regional transit networks
would, for the first time, allow DFW Board employees to consider transit as a viable
option for their daily commutes. The availability of transit as a commuting option can
also impact employee recruitment and retention, as some otherwise qualified individuals
may be unwilling or unable to commute to the airport by car on a daily basis.
Other groups that would benefit from convenient transit connections to Southgate Plaza
include hotel, restaurant, and post office workers; Hyatt Place guests; and anyone
needing to visit DFW Headquarters for business (including airline representatives,
terminal concessionaires, and Airport employees stationed primarily at the terminals).
Strengthening Existing Ridership
Over the past decade, a strong transit corridor has emerged between DFW Airport and
the CentrePort development, south of the Airport. The Trinity Railway Express (TRE)
Shuttle, operated by DFW Airport, carries approximately 530 passengers per day between
CentrePort Station and DFW’s South Remote Parking facility, where frequent
connections are available to the Airport’s five terminals.
While the primary function of the shuttle is to facilitate connections between the TRE
Commuter Rail line and the Airport terminals, passenger surveys suggest a far more
diverse set of trip types making use of the service. For example, in an on-board survey of
transit users traveling to DFW Airport, the most frequently given home zip-code was
76155, which includes the CentrePort neighborhood (Figure 2).
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Figure 2 Home Zip Codes of Transit Users Traveling to DFW Airport
Source: Nelson\Nygaard Intercept Survey – Summer 2012
This suggests that many riders of the TRE Shuttle are not in fact transferring to or from
the TRE, but rather using the shuttle as a local route between their home in the
CentrePort area and their destination at the airport, either for work or travel.
The addition of Southgate Plaza strengthens the corridor further by adding several new
trip generators. The development’s location between the CentrePort and both the Rental
Car Center and South Remote Parking (Figure 3) make it a logical addition to the TRE
Shuttle route, regardless of whether the route terminates at the South Remote Parking
lot, as it currently does, or the Rental Car Center, as will be discussed later in this
document.
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Figure 3 Corridor Anchors: CentrePort and Southgate
Source: Google Earth
Southgate Plaza will transform the area south of the airport terminals (including South
Remote Parking and the Rental Car Center) from primarily a transfer point (between bus
and bus, or car and bus) to an important destination unto itself. With the new mixed-use
development, travel demand between the greater Southgate area and CentrePort is
expected to grow, driven by several “affinity pairs” or geographic locations linked by the
propensity of travel between them. These affinity pairs include:
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American Airlines Headquarters <-> DFW Airport Headquarters
CentrePort residential <-> DFW Airport employment
TRE Station <-> DFW airport employment and travel
South Irving residential <-> CentrePort employment (via transfer in greater
Southgate area)
Internal circulation (i.e. south CentrePort <-> north CentrePort, or
DFW RAC <-> Southgate Plaza)
Issues to Address
Transit connections to Southgate Plaza are critical to the project’s success. Thus, DFW
Airport staff desire to explore transit options for the mixed-use development. In
addition, the development of transit service options for Southgate Plaza presents an
opportunity to examine other transit-related issues that have long been discussed by
regional leaders.
For example, the current connection between CentrePort Station and DFW Airport’s
terminals requires a bus transfer at the Airport’s South Remote Parking facility. Over-all,
this service structure is highly functional:
By terminating the TRE Shuttle route at South Remote Parking, the route is short
enough to provide frequent service with just two vehicles in concurrent service.
Existing resources are more productively utilized by serving both Remote Parking
patrons and transit users on the Remote Parking Shuttle (rather than operating
two parallel services).
Wait times at South Remote Parking are relatively short (6 minutes on average),
and travel times are minimized by allowing passengers to “skip” to the most
direct service from South Remote Parking to their destination terminal
(compared to an alternative scenario in which TRE Shuttles would circulate
through all five terminals to provide a one-seat connection from the CentrePort
area).
Never the less, there may be opportunities to improve the passenger experience by
shifting the northern terminus of the TRE Shuttle to the Rental Car Center rather than
South Remote Parking, and by eliminating the need to transfer between buses for at least
some passengers.
The Rental Car Center is considered by many to be a more appealing gateway to the
terminals than the South Remote Parking facility because it features a larger, more
inviting vestibule, more passenger amenities, and more frequent and direct shuttle
service to each of the Airport’s five terminals (by comparison, most Remote Parking
Shuttles serve two terminals each).
In the following section, several possible service alternatives will be presented for
Southgate Plaza. Each alternative will be evaluated for its ability to serve Southgate Plaza
effectively and efficiently, but the ability of each alternative to complement and improve
existing services will also be considered.
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Service Alternatives
The location of Southgate Plaza along the CentrePort / DFW Airport corridor presents
several options for future transit service to the development. The TRE Shuttle, Rental
Car Shuttle, and Remote Parking Shuttle all operate within close proximity of the
Southgate Plaza site, and all three could potentially play a role in making Southgate Plaza
a transit-accessible destination. A stand-alone service linking South Gate Plaza with
major destinations in and around the Airport was not considered a viable option because
of the high level of redundancy that such a service would create, and the high costs that
would be required to match even the minimum service levels of the Airport’s other
shuttles. Instead, four alternatives that make use of existing resources were considered.
These are described below.
Alternative A: CentrePort to Rental Car Center via Southgate Plaza
DFW’s Rental Car Center (RAC) is located just north of the future Southgate Plaza.
According to the project’s site plans, the roadway network for Southgate Plaza will be
integrated with 24th Street, providing direct access to the RAC. This proximity and
connectivity makes the RAC an ideal turn-around point for buses serving Southgate
Plaza. Under Alternative A, the TRE Shuttle would operate between CentrePort Station
and the RAC via Southgate Plaza (Figure 4).
Figure 4 Potential TRE Shuttle Routing through Southgate Plaza
Source: Nelson\Nygaard and DFW Airport
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Service Characteristics and Passenger Benefits
Terminating the TRE Shuttle at the RAC would allow for bi-directional service along a
consistent alignment through the heart of Southgate Plaza, meaning that the service
would be simple to use and highly visible – important features for maximizing ridership.
This service alternative would also allow DFW Headquarters employees, or anyone else at
Southgate Plaza, to quickly access any of the five Airport terminals by taking the TRE
Shuttle to the Rental Car Center and transferring to the appropriate Rental Car Shuttle.
Service between CentrePort Station and the Rental Car Center would likely require no
additional vehicles over current TRE Shuttle operations. Travel speed through Southgate
Plaza is expected to be slower than along South Airfield Drive, but the distance between
Centre Port Station and the Rental Car Center is also slightly shorter than the distance to
South Remote Parking (4.6 miles vs. 4.9 miles). Wait times and travel times for
passengers traveling to one of the Airport’s terminals would on average be less than what
passengers currently experience when transferring between the TRE Shuttle and Remote
Parking Shuttle as Rental Car Shuttles depart every five minutes (for most of the service
day) for each of the five terminals.
Challenges and Solutions
The primary challenges to routing the TRE Shuttle through the Rental Car Center are
likely to be the concerns of the rental car operators about the impact of the additional
riders on the capacity of the Rental Car Shuttle and Rental Car Center (elevator capacity,
for example). These concerns can be discussed and addressed as RAC tenant contracts
are renegotiated in the near future. Generally, any capacity impacts associated with the
TRE Shuttle or its ridership will be difficult to perceive, given the far higher ridership
volumes associated with the Rental Car Shuttle. This ridership disparity is furher
discussed in the Capacity section below.
A secondary concern is curb space at the Rental Car Center, but this issue can be
addressed by programming all schedule recovery time for the TRE Shuttle to occur at
CentrePort Station, rather than at the RAC. If buses do not “lay over” at the RAC, curb
space capacity is unlikely to be an issue. Currently, curbside capacity is managed by
having RAC Shuttle buses park in the infield of the RAC or at an off-site location for
breaks and lay-overs.
Capacity
The TRE Shuttle carries approximately 530 daily passengers. During certain times of the
day, the Rental Car Shuttles carry almost three times this number of passengers in a
single hour (Figure 5). Each Rental Car Shuttle has a seating capacity of 28 passengers,
and can carry a maximum of 35 passengers. From 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM, approximately
12 trips per hour depart the Rental Car Center for each terminal (60 trips total for all
terminals), and the same number return to the RAC (except from Terminal E, discussed
below). Before 6:00 AM and after 10:00 PM, four buses per hour serve each terminal
from the RAC (total of 20 trips to the terminals, and 20 trips back).
Figure 6 shows the approximate number of passengers on each trip to and from the
Rental Car Center. Only the Terminal E route experiences ridership levels that exceed
either seating or total vehicle capacity. However, between 10:00 AM and 10:00 PM, an
additional “sweeper bus” is used at Terminal E to handle heavy loads and pick up any
DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
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passengers who are not able to board a crowded Rental Car Shuttle. This extra bus
operates between Terminal E and the Rental Car Center, but only picks up passengers at
the terminal, dead-heading back after dropping off passengers at the RAC.
The sweeper bus provides three additional trips per hour from Terminal E to the Rental
Car Center, expanding available vehicle capacity and absorbing the high ridership
demand during most periods of the day.
DFW’s Airport Master Plan projects a 2.2% growth in aviation traffic in coming years.
This will certainly reflect in higher ridership on the RAC Shuttle and other airport
services. Based on Figure 6 below, most RAC Shuttle trips have the capacity to absorb
this anticipated ridership growth, although a few additional trips may experience
occasional standees. However, those trips that are most at risk of overcrowding, already
have capacity issues that necessitate the sweeper bus, or other capacity-expanding
solutions.
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Figure 5 Rental Car Shuttle Passengers per Hour – 5/20/2013
TERM A to RAC RAC to TERM A TERM B to RAC RAC to TERM B TERM C to RAC RAC to TERM C TERM D to RAC RAC to TERM D TERM E to RAC RAC to TERM E
00:01 - 01:00 15 1 3 - - - - - 75 1
01:01 - 02:00 - - 1 1 - - 18 - 28 3
02:01 - 03:00 - - - - - - - 1 17 2
03:01 - 04:00 - 9 - - - 4 - - 7 38
04:01 - 05:00 - 17 1 - - 29 - - - 124
05:01 - 06:00 9 32 - - 5 43 2 11 9 218
06:01 - 07:00 8 35 - 19 3 60 17 76 20 215
07:01 - 08:00 11 66 52 20 36 52 37 33 30 83
08:01 - 09:00 209 51 96 2 184 90 74 41 154 179
09:01 - 10:00 259 50 64 17 135 65 99 34 488 270
10:01 - 11:00 154 61 40 9 159 75 78 53 267 180
11:01 - 12:00 173 68 45 19 225 63 209 56 309 205
12:01 - 13:00 172 44 64 46 185 71 75 40 368 360
13:01 - 14:00 155 38 104 18 65 72 31 71 361 258
14:01 - 15:00 63 40 36 6 112 58 55 58 429 224
15:01 - 16:00 66 60 35 14 57 45 45 64 286 221
16:01 - 17:00 67 34 47 10 95 62 54 36 350 179
17:01 - 18:00 117 82 34 14 96 72 77 27 295 104
18:01 - 19:00 141 15 33 24 70 34 66 20 211 129
19:01 - 20:00 91 11 26 1 131 15 50 13 250 38
20:01 - 21:00 90 8 31 3 144 8 66 3 269 37
21:01 - 22:00 54 5 22 4 143 10 52 9 198 27
22:01 - 23:00 60 3 4 1 54 10 51 6 363 14
23:01 - 24:00 25 - 1 - 28 8 23 3 95 5
Source: DFW Airport
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Figure 6 Rental Car Shuttle Passengers per Trip – 5/20/2013
TERM A to RAC RAC to TERM A TERM B to RAC RAC to TERM B TERM C to RAC RAC to TERM C TERM D to RAC RAC to TERM D TERM E to RAC RAC to TERM E
00:01 - 01:00 4 0 1 - - - - - 19 0
01:01 - 02:00 - - 0 0 - - 5 - 7 1
02:01 - 03:00 - - - - - - - 0 4 1
03:01 - 04:00 - 2 - - - 1 - - 2 10
04:01 - 05:00 - 4 0 - - 7 - - - 31
05:01 - 06:00 2 8 - - 1 11 1 3 2 55
06:01 - 07:00 1 3 - 2 0 5 1 6 2 18
07:01 - 08:00 1 6 4 2 3 4 3 3 3 7
08:01 - 09:00 17 4 8 0 15 8 6 3 13 15
09:01 - 10:00 22 4 5 1 11 5 8 3 41 23
10:01 - 11:00 13 5 3 1 13 6 7 4 22 15
11:01 - 12:00 14 6 4 2 19 5 17 5 26 17
12:01 - 13:00 14 4 5 4 15 6 6 3 31 30
13:01 - 14:00 13 3 9 2 5 6 3 6 30 22
14:01 - 15:00 5 3 3 1 9 5 5 5 36 19
15:01 - 16:00 6 5 3 1 5 4 4 5 24 18
16:01 - 17:00 6 3 4 1 8 5 5 3 29 15
17:01 - 18:00 10 7 3 1 8 6 6 2 25 9
18:01 - 19:00 12 1 3 2 6 3 6 2 18 11
19:01 - 20:00 8 1 2 0 11 1 4 1 21 3
20:01 - 21:00 8 1 3 0 12 1 6 0 22 3
21:01 - 22:00 5 0 2 0 12 1 4 1 17 2
22:01 - 23:00 15 1 1 0 14 3 13 2 91 4
23:01 - 24:00 6 - 0 - 7 2 6 1 24 1
Source: DFW Airport
Exceeds seating capacity Exceeds maximum vehicle capacity
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While the hourly ridership of the TRE Shuttle is far lower than that of the Rental Car Shuttles, there could be a perceptible impact on some Rental Car Shuttle trips if passenger from the TRE Shuttle overwhelmingly chose to transfer to one particular Rental Car Shuttle route (especially the Terminal E route, which is already at capacity on some trips). However, a survey of TRE Shuttle passengers conducted by the study team in the summer of 2012, suggests that passenger destinations are diverse (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Terminal Destination of TRE Shuttle Riders – May 2012
Source: Nelson\Nygaard passenger surveys
Given the distribution of TRE Shuttle riders, the expected impact on the Rental Car Shuttle capacity would be minimal. It should also be noted that in the sample day shown in Figure 5 and 6, the most extreme over-crowding occurs in the hour beginning at 10:00 PM. This is a time period where service frequency drops from 5 to 15 minutes and the sweeper bus ends operations, resulting in a drop in available seat capacity. This is also a time period when TRE Shuttle Ridership is extremely low (Figure 8).
Figure 8 TRE Shuttle Ridership per Hour – July 2011
0-Source: DFW Airport
Terminal A 24%
Terminal B 16%
Terminal C 23%
Terminal D 16%
Terminal E 21%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
TRE Shuttle
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Resource and Cost Sharing
Rental Car Shuttle operations are currently funded through a Customer Transportation
Charge (CTC) added to the cost of each rental day. Rental car operators may be more
open to the idea of sharing resources if other parties (including DART, The T, and/or
DFW Airport) contributed to the operating cost of the Rental Car Center and/or Shuttle
service.
Alternative A does not present an obvious formula for cost sharing. Possible options
could include an access fee or impact assessment based on either the number of TRE
Shuttle buses or transferring passengers utilizing the Rental Car Center and Shuttles per
year.
The TRE Shuttle is funded jointly by DART , The T, and DFW Airport (with additional
support from Job Access / Reverse-Commute (JARC) Grant funding through the North
Central Texas Council of Governments). The agreement to pay any access fees proposed
by the rental car operators would likely require the approval of the Boards of the two
transit agencies, and is far from certain. This may prove to be the biggest hurdle to
shifting TRE Shuttle service to the Rental Car Center. However, the hotel and restaurants
planned for Southgate Plaza, together with the Rental Car Center, create a high
concentration of entry-level jobs, which can help ensure continued transportation grant
funding for the service. The latest federal transportation funding bill eliminated the
JARC grant program, but activities that were previously eligible for JARC funding are
now eligible under the Urbanized Area Formula Fund. This includes operating assistance
with a 50% local match for job access and reverse-commute activities.
One additional concern is the connection between the TRE Shuttle and DART’s Route
408. This connection currently takes place at the South Remote Parking facility which
also provides DART operators with a convenient end-of-the line layover point. Route 408
could remain unchanged, providing an on-street connection to the TRE Shuttle along
Rental Car Road, or the route could be restructured to terminate at the RAC or Southgate
Plaza. Service to the RAC would bring up the same issues described above regarding the
willingness of rental car operators to allow for non-rental car-related activities at the
Rental Car Center. Additionally, both the RAC and Southgate Plaza would provide
challenges for DART in identifying a suitable layover location for buses. More
information on the service and ridership characteristics of Route 408 are included in the
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Transit Service Planning Study that preceded
this document.
Alternative B: CentrePort to Terminal E via Southgate Plaza and the RAC
Terminal E has the highest percentage of DFW passengers with local destinations (as
opposed to transferring between flights without leaving the airport). Thus, it is not
surprising that the Terminal E route of the Rental Car Shuttle is by far the most heavily
used. As mentioned previously, an extra Rental Car Shuttle sweeper bus is used at
Terminal E to help absorb high passenger volumes. Alternative B would replace the
sweeper bus with an extension of the TRE Shuttle to Terminal E, via Southgate Plaza and
the Rental Car Center as shown in Figure 9.
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Service Characteristics and Passenger Benefits
Extending the TRE Shuttle to Terminal E, via Southgate Plaza and the Rental Car Center
would provide a one-seat connection from the CentrePort area or Southgate Plaza to
Terminal E. Passengers with destinations in other terminals could transfer to the
corresponding Rental Car Shuttle at the Rental Car Center, or use Skylink or Terminal
Link from Terminal E. Similarly airport employees could travel between Terminal E and
the DFW Airport Headquarters at Southgate Plaza without an additional transfer at South
Remote Parking or the Rental Car Center.
Figure 9 TRE Shuttle Extension to Terminal E
Source:Google Earth
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Whether they transfer at the RAC or at Terminal E, this alternative would offer most
passengers a higher level of service than the current service design due to faster over-all
trip times and more direct service.
Challenges and Solutions
Routing the TRE Shuttle through the Rental Car Center would require the consent of the
rental car operators as described in the Alternative A. However, Alternative B presents a
very straight-forward opportunity for cost-sharing that may appeal to both the transit
agencies and the rental car operators:
A TRE Shuttle connection between the RAC and Terminal E would provide four
additional departures per hour from the Rental Car Center to Terminal E and from
Terminal E to the Rental Car center. This level of service would be comparable, and in
fact slightly better than the current sweeper bus approach to dealing with high ridership
volumes between Terminal E and the Rental Car Center. TRE Shuttle service to Terminal
E would allow rental car operators to discontinue the use of the sweeper bus, resulting in
a savings of approximately 12 revenue hours per day.
For DART and The T, the extension of the Rental Car Shuttle to Terminal E would require
the funding of a third bus (the current TRE Shuttle routing requires two buses for 15-
minute frequency). A third bus would add approximately 19 revenue hours of service to
the operating cost of the TRE Shuttle if the third bus were to be used for the entirety of
the service day (5:00 AM to 12:00 PM).
In exchange for extending the TRE Shuttle to Terminal E, which would provide added
capacity for Rental Car customers, the TRE Shuttle would be able to utilize the RAC,
offering an enhanced user experience to TRE Shuttle riders. The additional cost to the
transit agencies of extending the TRE Shuttle to Terminal E could be partially off-set by
eliminating redundant service elsewhere in the corridor between DFW Airport and to
CentrePort Station (Figure 10). For example, The T’s Route 30 operates three branches in
the CentrePort area. The central branch serves Amon Carter Boulevard, which is also
served by the TRE Shuttle. The elimination of this branch would save The T the cost of
6.75 revenue hours per weekday with little impact on ridership. It should be noted that
there are currently no bus stops on the southbound side of Amon Carter Boulevard, north
of Sovereign Road. If the Amon Carter branch of Route 30 is eliminated, stops will need
to be added to the southbound side of the street, across from the existing stops on the
northbound side of Amon Carter. These new stops would replace the current Route 30
stop along Cambridge Road.
Figure 10 Revenue Hour Impact of Service Modifications
Service Modification
Estimated Weekday Revenue
Hour Impact
Extend TRE Shuttle to Terminal E (via Rental Car Center)
19 hours
Eliminate Rental Car Shuttle Sweeper Bus
-12 hours
Eliminate Amon Carter Branch of The T’s Route 30
-6.25 hours
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Alternative C: CentrePort to South Remote Parking via Southgate Plaza
If a suitable arrangement cannot be reached to allow the TRE Shuttle to serve the Rental
Car Center, Southgate Plaza can still be served by the TRE Shuttle through a modification
of the existing TRE Shuttle Route to and from South Remote Parking. Alternative C
includes two options for service between CentrePort Station and South Remote Parking,
via Southgate Plaza. These alternatives are described below and illustrated in Figure 11.
Service Characteristics and Passenger Benefits
Two routing options could be considered in order to serve Southgate Plaza on the way to
and from the South Remote Parking facility:
C1. A peripheral routing that skirts the edges of Southgate Plaza (green route in
Figure 11).
C2. An internal routing circulating through Southgate Plaza on the way to and from
South Remote Parking (blue route in Figure 11).
The primary difference between the two options would be in total travel time
(approximately 4 more minutes, round trip, for alternative C2). Both options would
require one additional bus compared to the two buses in current use on the TRE Shuttle.
Challenges and Solutions
While Alternatives C1 and C2 would avoid the challenges of negotiating a use agreement
with the rental car operators, they would also result in longer over-all travel times for
passengers traveling between the CentrePort area and the Airport’s terminals. The
average wait time for a connecting shuttle is slightly longer at South Remote Parking than
at the RAC and trips to the terminals are also potentially longer, depending on which
terminal a passenger is traveling to (most Remote Parking shuttles serve two terminals,
making for a relatively long trip for passengers traveling to the second terminal on the
trip).
Neither Alternative C1 nor C2 would allow for bi-directional service along a single
alignment through Southgate Plaza. Instead, service would take the form of a loop, which
can be more complex for passengers to use because stops for service in different
directions may not be in close proximity.
In addition, Alternative C1 would only serve the perimeter of Southgate Plaza, requiring
an additional walk for passengers utilizing the service.
For the transit agencies, the inclusion of Southgate Plaza in the TRE Shuttle Route will
increase operating cost due to the extra vehicle needed to maintain a 15-minute frequency
on the longer route.
Over-all the primary benefit of Alternative C is simply the ease of implementation.
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Figure 11 Routing Alternative C1 (Green) and C2 (Blue) for TRE Shuttle Serving Southgate Plaza and Remote South Parking
Source: Google Earth
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Conclusion
Figure 12 shows a comparison of characteristics and implications of the current TRE
Shuttle and the four service alternative described above. Under any scenario, the TRE
Shuttle is the most logical way to link the new development into the airport and regional
transit networks. Adding Southgate Plaza as a destination to the current CentrePort <->
South Remote Parking service design can only be achieved by increasing the number of
vehicles in circulation. On the other hand, the fleet size can be maintained by routing the
TRE Shuttle through the Rental Car Center instead of the South Remote Parking facility,
but as discussed, this will have implications on the nature of the Rental Car Shuttle
service (i.e. serving a broader market than just rental car customers). The extension of
the TRE Shuttle to Terminal E, offers a potential compromise in which the Rental Car
Shuttle takes on a broader role in the airport and regional transit network, but Rental Car
Operators are able to reduce operating costs by eliminating the need for a sweeper bus to
absorb heavy loads at Terminal E. Ultimately, each scenario has costs and benefits, and
the intent of this document is to highlight the key issues to consider as the integration of
Southgate Plaza is being considered by relevant stakeholders.
Figure 12 Implications for Alternative Routings
Alternative
One-Way
Travel
Time
(Minutes)
Estimated
Vehicles
Needed to
Maintain
15-Minute
Frequency
Estimated
Additional
Daily
Revenue
Hours of
TRE Shuttle
Service
Estimated
Additional
Daily
Operating
Cost of
TRE
Shuttle1
Other
Potential
Costs
Benefits for
Riders
CentrePort to Remote South Parking (Current)
11 2 - - - -
A: CentrePort to RAC via Southgate Plaza
11 2 No Change from
Current
No Change
from Current
Access fee for use of
RAC facility
Faster travel time to terminals
/ Access to Southgate Plaza
B: CentrePort to Terminal E via Southgate Plaza and RAC
19 3 19 $1,300 Access fee for use of
RAC facility
Faster travel time to terminals / One-seat ride to terminal E /
Access to Southgate Plaza
C1: CentrePort to Remote South via Southgate Plaza
13 3 19 $1,300 No Change from
Current
Access to Southgate Plaza
C2: CentrePort to Remote South via Southgate Plaza
15 3 19 $1,300 No Change from
Current
Access to Southgate Plaza
1 Operating cost assumes $67.73 per revenue hour based on current cost of TRE Shuttle operations.
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INTER-CITY TRANSPORTATION: A CHANGING MARKET
In 2012, inter-city bus service was the fastest growing form of inter-city transportation in
the United States. Between 2011 and 2012, the number of daily inter-city bus departures
grew by 7.5%. By comparison, domestic airline capacity grew by only .4% as airlines
worked to control capacity after a period of over-expansion and several bankruptcies.
Other forms of inter-city travel are also receiving renewed attention from investors and
government leaders. Several high-speed rail lines are under consideration in the United
States, including two parallel studies in Texas that would serve the DFW region. This
section provides a high level description of the challenges and opportunities associated
with integrating inter-city bus and high-speed rail service into an airport environment.
Inter-City Bus Renaissance
2012 was the 6th consecutive year of growth for the inter-city bus industry nationally
(Figure 13), and included the introduction of Megabus service to the Dallas/Fort Worth
region.
Figure 13 Annual Change in Inter-City Bus Departures
Source: Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development – DePaul University
The renaissance of the inter-city bus market in the United States coincides with changes
in the domestic airline industry as well. Sustained high fuel costs over the past decade
have forced airlines to re-examine the role of small regional jets in their fleets and
operating plans.
Small regional jets (50-seat or less) emerged as a popular alternative to propeller planes
in the 1990s, when fuel costs were low and accounted for only about 15% of airline
operating expenses (compared to 35% today). These planes allowed airlines to market jet
service to smaller communities, but as fuel costs rose, the small regional jets’ low seat
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counts made them economically unsustainable for airlines - there simply aren’t enough
revenue-generating seats to divide the flight operating cost by to keep fares competitive
or to keep flights profitable.
Figure 14 Small Regional Jet at DFW Airport (with Larger Planes in Background)
Source: CBS
As the inter-city bus market expands, and small regional jets fall out of favor with
airlines, there has been speculation that buses may replace planes on some regional
routes. If inter-city buses take the place of small planes in airline feeder networks, then
airports may have to adapt to facilitate large volumes of bus to plane and plane to bus
transfers. However, a close review of trends in both the airline and inter-city bus
industries suggest that this scenario is unlikely in the near future.
While orders for small regional jets are falling in the United States and elsewhere, orders
for larger regional jets (more than 50 seats) and small “turboprops” are rising. Modern
turboprops have 66% higher fuel economy than small regional jets on short-haul flights
(within 200 nautical miles), and offer comparable travel times at this distance. Larger
regional jets have more seats to offset the operating cost of a flight (assuming most seats
are sold).
While airlines do not appear to be making plans to integrate buses into their feeder
networks, neither do inter-city bus operators appear to be building their networks to
complement airlines. The growth of interest in inter-city bus service can be attributed to
a new generation of operators that have introduced new features and new business
models (many pioneered in the airline industry) to the inter-city bus market. For
example, Megabus, which began operating in Texas in the summer of 2012, includes the
following features:
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Low-cost – advertised fares as low as $1 for a one-way trip. There is typically
just one seat per bus at that price (which doesn’t include taxes and fees), but even
at full price, Megabus trips between Dallas and Houston, for example, are less
than $30 one-way. Other cost-saving features include no baggage fees and one-
class service.
High-tech – tickets can only be purchased on-line. Wifi service is standard on
all buses and power outlets are available at every seat.
Express – non-stop service between major hubs. Rather than connecting a
string of small communities to a large metro area, as was common with previous
generations of inter-city bus service, Megabus mostly operates non-stop or one-
stop service between major hubs. The one exception being college towns, which
are often small but have high population densities and high propensities for
public transportation use.
Urban – pick-up and drop off points are almost exclusively in urban, pedestrian
and transit-friendly environments. Parking is generally not provided, so
proximity to transit and pedestrian networks are key to the business model.
Urban environments also align well with the demographics and lifestyles of the
new generation of inter-city bus riders, who are overwhelmingly young (75%
under the age of 36), and who often choose to live car-free in urban
environments.
Ultra sensitive to costs and markets – to reduce expenses, Megabus
operates from on-street bus stops wherever possible. The company has no
purpose-built terminals, which saves costs and allows unproductive service to be
eliminated quickly. Where on-street pick-ups are prohibited, Megabus often
leases spots in surface parking lots close to major transit centers, and operates
from traditional multi-modal bus stations as a last resort only.
Based on these characteristics, modern inter-city bus services are, in effect, vying for the
same rather than complimentary markets as the airlines, and are using the differences
between the two modes as selling points for their service.
In the case of DFW Airport, the features that have made it one of the most convenient
airports in the county for automobile access make it a challenging environment for inter-
city bus operations. For most passengers, DFW Airport is not a destination unto itself,
but rather a gateway to the region. The airport is located just over 20 miles from
downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth, which is convenient for residents driving to
points throughout the region, but would negate the time savings of inter-city bus service
to downtown Dallas (and perhaps eventually to downtown Fort Worth, which Megabus
has been exploring as a destination).
DFW Airport is served indirectly by the Trinity Railway Express, and will soon be served
directly by DART’s Orange Line and The T’s TEX Rail. However, if Megabus served DFW
Airport only, many bus passengers would likely take these services to downtown Dallas or
downtown Fort Worth anyway, either as their final destination or to access the two transit
system’s primary hubs with dozens of connecting services. Over-all, there is little benefit
to arriving at an airport for bus passengers.
The supporting services available at an airport (long-term parking, car rental, and airport
hotels) are also unlikely to appeal to inter-city bus passengers, who are generally cost-
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conscious (even choice riders) and tend to be less averse to using local transit than other
inter-city travelers.
Adding DFW Airport as a second stop in the region would incur additional costs on inter-
city bus operators in the form of additional hours and miles of service and additional
access and lease fees, with little practical benefit. It is unlikely that inter-city bus
operators will abandon downtown service, and from their perspective they are already
serving the Airport in the same way that they serve countless other destinations in the
region - by siting downtown pick-up and drop-off points close to local transit lines serving
these destinations.
There are very few examples of inter-city bus service to airports in the United States
(other than charter services). Those airports that do have inter-city bus service usually
also have a unique set of market conditions that do not necessarily translate to other
locations. For example, in Buffalo, NY, Megabus serves both Buffalo Niagara
International Airport and downtown Buffalo. For Canadian travelers, the Buffalo airport
is a popular alternative to Toronto’s Pearson International Airports. Buffalo is
approximately 100 miles from Toronto, but airfares are often 20% to 30% lower from
Buffalo, especially to US destinations. Thus, there is a strong market for inter-city bus
service between Toronto and Buffalo Niagara International Airport, serving Toronto
residents who do not have cars, or who prefer to leave their cars at home.
Another airport served by inter-city bus service is Miami International Airport (MIA).
MIA is a “close-in” airport, just 15 to 20 minutes to downtown Miami by Metrorail
(compared to an hour or more between DFW and downtown Dallas by TRE or the future
Orange Lines when transfers are taken into account). Additionally, the new Miami
Intermodal Center (set for completion in 2013) will include rental cars, local bus, inter-
city bus, Metrorail, Tri-Rail (commuter rail), Amtrak, and future high-speed rail all in one
location connected to the airport’s terminal area by an automated people mover.
Compared to MIA, DFW Airport is a highly decentralized environment. Inter-city buses
would need to serve multiple locations at the Airport to provide access to rental cars, local
transit, regional transit, long-term parking, and the passenger terminals. If a single
location at the airport were served (the Rental Car facility, for example) passengers not
renting cars would need to make connections on their own using the Airport’s various
shuttle services. Either way, the over-all travel times associated with inter-city bus
service to DFW Airport is generally inconsistent with the business model that emphasizes
express connections to city centers.
The Arrival of High Speed-Rail
Modern inter-city bus service mimics the characteristics of high-speed rail in many ways,
most notably the focus on providing express or very limited stop service between major
regional hubs. As inter-city bus service is an unsubsidized industry in Texas, much can be
learned from the decisions made by bus operators in terms of designing a system to
maximize ridership and productivity.
The experience of peer systems can be instructive as well. The California High Speed Rail
(CAHSR) project, while still in the planning and design stage, is a few years ahead of
similar efforts in Texas. Initial funding for the project was approved by state voters in
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2008, and the first construction contract associated with the project was awarded in
June, 2013.
The CAHSR project would link major cities between San Francisco and San Diego,
including San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, and Riverside. Spurs would also
connect Sacramento, Anaheim, and Irvine into the system (Figure 16).
Several airports will be served by California’s high-speed rail line, including the airports
in San Francisco, Palmdale, Burbank, Ontario, and San Diego. Other airports, such as
those in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Jose, Orange County, Long Beach, and Sacramento
will not be served. The rationale behind which airports to serves is based on a policy of
no major deviations. For example, a spur to LAX was rejected because it would have
required too much additional travel time.
Some airports happened to be “on the way” of the preferred CAHSR rail alignment, and in
some cases alignments were selected specifically because they would serve an airport, but
there is only one example in the entire system of an airport being selected as a station site
instead of a downtown: San Diego International Airport is located just one mile from
downtown Dan Diego, and is close enough to the city center to effectively serve as a
downtown station.
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Figure 15 Regional Jet at DFW Airport (with Larger Planes in Background)
Source: UCLA
With the exception of San Diego, every other airport station is in addition to the
community’s downtown or major suburban center, not instead of it. Ridership
projections for CAHSR indicate that business travelers will be the rail system’s core
market, making central business development access paramount.
Capturing the business travelers market will likely be key to the success of high-speed rail
in Texas as well. The challenge is that while the DFW Metroplex is oriented along a
horizontal axis connecting Dallas, DFW Airport, and Fort Worth, the region as a whole is
located along several important north-south corridors.
From a local perspective, the desire to connect the two downtowns, and the region’s
primary airport with high-speed rail is clear, and is the stated position of the Regional
Transportation Council. However, from a broader perspective, the added travel time of
serving three nodes in one metro region will certainly have a negative impact on through-
ridership such as between Austin and Oklahoma City.
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Finally, the practical matter of DFW’s decentralized design, which has been discussed in
many contexts before, would be a limiting factor for effective high-speed rail service to
the airport as well. A single station at the Airport will not be sufficient to provide direct
access to the terminals, remote parking, local transit connections, and rental car center.
However, multiple stops in close succession would also be undesirable unless the stops
are at the end of the line and have no travel time impact on through-passengers.
Conclusion
As regional decision makers consider the appropriate roles and alignments of high-speed
rail and inter-city bus service in the North Central Texas transportation network, the case
studies presented in this document can help inform the debate. As has been seen in other
regions, the characteristics of bus and rail trips do not always align with the design
parameters of large airports. Major airports usually require large “footprints” and are
often sited some distance away from areas of high population density, while bus and rail
stations are most effective in dense urban environments. These differences are not easily
reconciled without compromising the ridership and productivity potential of high-speed
rail or inter-city bus service. As a result, inter-city bus operators rarely serve airports,
and major airports tend to be secondary priorities in the design of high-speed rail lines.