The Mineta National Transit Research Consortium (MNTRC) has published a comprehensive study of the factors that enable and inhibit the development of effective regional public transit.

While the report, Detroit Regional Transit Study: A Study of Factors that Enable and Inhibit Effective Regional Transit, focuses on metropolitan Detroit and four peer regions (Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, and St. Louis), its results and recommendations are applicable to other areas as well.

The study examines six factors and their influence on transit development and operation. The areas studied included leadership and politics, governance and law, finance, transit-oriented development, equity and access, and media/public opinion. The overall publication provides an overview and the key recommendations of these six separate reports.

Rather than relying solely on data, the investigators worked with more than 60 people who have been leaders for many years in transit advocacy, development, and operation across the country, drawing especially upon their personal reflections regarding successes and failures.

DOT provided funding for the report through MNTRC, matched by Michigan DOT and the University of Detroit Mercy. The publications are available here.