[Double Decker] Within the last 40 years, use of double-decker buses for mass transit had been minimal

in North America. However, there is growing interest because of the the buses higher capacity within a shorter length, which can be used to serve peak-demand times for particular routes of the day. Applicability of double-decker buses to existing TCAT system in terms of economic feasibility, impacts on service level and environmental impacts will be studied as part of the overall project. Some major factors to consider for the study include the route to deploy the buses, road conditions of Ithaca, and TCATs policy on acquiring new vehicles. [Articulated] Among all types of high capacity (HC) transit vehicles, articulated buses are operated in a few metro areas in North America. Some applications include peak-demand services, serving on the bus rapid transit (BRT) system, high-demand special events, commuter express service, etc. As a part of the project, the feasibility of introducing articulated buses to the existing service is investigated. The benefits and the tradeoffs involving the level of service (LOS), the effects on dwell and running times, the capital investment, the maintenance, as well as other operating issues will be taken into consideration. Even though articulated buses have a potential to be upgraded to BRT, after the initial literature review, articulated buses may not be implementable in the Ithaca area at the moment. [Flex Route] Flexible public transportation system (Flex-route service) is a combination of fixed route service and demand responsive service. Flexible transit routes travel with an approximate route and stop when there is a prior passenger request, or they travel with prefixed stops and deviates to pick up or drop off passengers based on the demand of service. Flexible route service fulfills the ADA (Americans with Disability Act) requirement providing service to people with disabilities. Comparing to fixed route service, flexible route provides public transit service in rural and urban peripheral, or other lower populated areas where fixed route service is not reached. TCAT route 41 currently operates a demandresponsive zone that covers Sapsucker Woods neighborhood, Lower Creek Road neighborhood, and Etna.

[Bio] Kunrawee (Bo) Tangmitpracha Kunrawee Tangmitpracha (or, as her friends call her, Bo) was born in the Northeast region of Thailand, in a province with a surprisingly long name, Ubon Ratchathani. After earning a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering (Transportation) with a minor in Real Estate from Cornell University, she is now pursuing Master of Engineering in Engineering Managementat Cornell, still. During her undergraduate study, she interned at the Siam Cement Group (SCG)the largest construction material company in Thailandas a supply chain engineer, responsible for a project to reduce to total supply chain cost for the companys subdivision that develops roof tiles, Smart Board, and SmartWood. An acquaintance will usually be surprised to learn that she has a strong passion in culinary arts and patisserie. Because of that, she is determined to develop her own business that will allow her to 1) pursue her dream to become a patissier 2) utilize her skills in Real Estate and 3) make good use of her knowledge in engineering, management and financeshe hopes to run a (global?) chain restaurant focusing on modern pastries. Bo plans to attend a business school in Japan after her graduation in May.

Kati Chang Kati Chang is a Master of Engineering - Engineering Management student from Beijing, China. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Operations Research and Information Engineering from Cornell University in May 2013. Kati has taken several courses in transportation engineering and information science (extract valuable information from vast data) during her undergraduate study. She has high interest in public transit system, especially the social and environmental impacts of the transit system. Pawit (Sean) Chayanupatkul Sean is an Engineering Management student from Bangkok, Thailand. Previously he studied

Operations Research and Information Engineering at Cornell for his undergraduate degree. Previous professional experiences were a business analyst role in supply chain management at Chevron and a sales intern at Nestle'. Sean has always been interested in applying data analytics to solving complex problems, particularly in manufacturing and supply chain. After graduation, he hopes to join a leading firm in supply chain solutions to explore his interests further. In his free time, Sean enjoys playing tennis and travel photography.