TCRP OVERSIGHT AND PROJECT SELECTION COMMISSION*

CHAIR

Jeanne Krieg

Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority (retired)

VICE CHAIR

Jameson Auten

Lane Transit District

SECRETARY/TREASURER

Ryan I. Daniel

St. Cloud Metro Bus

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR

Doran J. Barnes

Foothill Transit

MEMBERS

Andrea Burnside

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Julia Castillo

Heart of Iowa Transit Authority

April Chan

San Mateo County Transit District

Desmond Cole

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority

Carolyn Flowers

InfraStrategies LLC

David Harris

New Mexico Department of Transportation

Tim Healy

Sound Transit

Brendon Hemily

Hemily and Associates

Vince Huerta

East Texas Council of Governments

Joseph Leader

HDR

Benjamin Limmer

Connecticut Department of Transportation

Bacarra Mauldin

Consultant

Jessica Mefford-Miller

Valley Metro

Raymond Melleady

USSC Group

Brad Miller

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA)

Elizabeth Presutti

Charlotte Area Transit System

Catherine Rinaldi

Consultant

Jeffrey Rosenberg

Amalgamated Transit Union

Justin Stuehrenberg

Madison Metro Transit

Frank White, III

Kansas City Area Transportation Authority

Kimberly J. Williams

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County

Nigel H.M. Wilson

MIT

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS

Victoria Sheehan

TRB

Paul P. Skoutelas

APTA

Jim Tymon

AASHTO

[Vacant]

FTA

Kristin White

FHWA

TOPS COMMISSION STAFF ADVISOR

Arthur L. Guzzetti

APTA

SECRETARY

Monique R. Evans

TRB

---

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2025 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*

OFFICERS

CHAIR: Leslie S. Richards, Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

VICE CHAIR: Joel M. Jundt, Secretary of Transportation, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Pierre

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Victoria Sheehan, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC

MEMBERS

James F. Albaugh, President and CEO, The Boeing Company (retired), Scottsdale, AZ

Carlos M. Braceras, Executive Director, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City

Douglas C. Ceva, Vice President, Customer Lead Solutions, Prologis, Inc., Jupiter, FL

Nancy Daubenberger, Commissioner of Transportation, Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul

Marie Therese Dominguez, Commissioner, New York State Department of Transportation, Albany

Garrett Eucalitto, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Newington

Andrew Fremier, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco, CA

Martha Grabowski, Professor Emerita, Information Systems, Le Moyne College, Madden College of Business & Economics, Cazenovia, NY

Randell Iwasaki, President and CEO, Iwasaki Consulting Services, Walnut Creek, CA

Carol A. Lewis, Professor, Transportation Studies, Texas Southern University, Houston

Hani S. Mahmassani, W.A. Patterson Distinguished Chair in Transportation; Director, Transportation Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Scott C. Marler, Director, Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames

Ricardo Martinez, Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA

Russell McMurry, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta

Craig E. Philip, Research Professor and Director, VECTOR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Steward T.A. Pickett, Distinguished Senior Scientist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY

Susan A. Shaheen, Professor and Co-Director, Transportation Sustainability Research Center, University of California, Berkeley

Marc Williams, Executive Director, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS

Michael R. Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC

Steven G. Bradbury, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC

Steven Cliff, Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento

LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Germantown, MD

Firas Ibrahim, Director, Office of Research, Development, and Technology, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), Washington, DC

Jason Kelly, Deputy Commanding General for Civil Works and Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC

Sandra Knight, President, WaterWonks, LLC, Washington, DC

Ben Kochman, Acting Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Washington, DC

Zahra “Niloo” Parvinashtiani, Engineer, Mobility Consultant Solutions, Iteris Inc., Fairfax, VA, and Chair, TRB Young Members Coordinating Council

Chris Rocheleau, Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC

Gloria Shepherd, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC

Karl Simon, Director, Transportation and Climate Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC

Paul P. Skoutelas, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC

Jim Tymon, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC

___________________

^* Membership as of May 2025.

^* Membership as of May 2025.

TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM

Transit Recovery in the Aftermath
of Severe Weather Events

CURRENT STATE OF PRACTICE

A Synthesis of Transit Practice

Patricia Bye
Deborah Matherly
MIRTA, LLC
Lexington, SC

Subject Areas
Public Transportation

Research sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration in cooperation with the American Public Transportation Association

TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM

The nation’s growth and the need to meet mobility, environmental, and energy objectives place demands on public transit systems. Current systems, some of which are old and in need of upgrading, must expand service area, increase service frequency, and improve efficiency to serve these demands. Research is necessary to solve operating problems, adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and introduce innovations into the transit industry. The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) serves as one of the principal means by which the transit industry can develop innovative near-term solutions to meet demands placed on it.

The need for TCRP was originally identified in TRB Special Report 213—Research for Public Transit: New Directions, published in 1987 and based on a study sponsored by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration—now the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Transportation 2000, also recognized the need for local, problem-solving research. TCRP, modeled after the successful National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), undertakes research and other technical activities in response to the needs of transit service providers. The scope of TCRP includes various transit research fields including planning, service configuration, equipment, facilities, operations, human resources, maintenance, policy, and administrative practices.

TCRP was established under FTA sponsorship in July 1992. Proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, TCRP was authorized as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). On May 13, 1992, a memorandum agreement outlining TCRP operating procedures was executed by the three cooperating organizations: FTA; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, acting through the Transportation Research Board (TRB); and APTA. APTA is responsible for forming the independent governing board, designated as the TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Commission.

Research problem statements for TCRP are solicited periodically but may be submitted to TRB by anyone at any time. It is the responsibility of the TOPS Commission to formulate the research program by identifying the highest priority projects. As part of the evaluation, the TOPS Commission defines funding levels and expected products.

Once selected, each project is assigned to an expert panel appointed by TRB. The panels prepare project statements (requests for proposals), select contractors, and provide technical guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The process for developing research problem statements and selecting research agencies has been used by TRB in managing cooperative research programs since 1962. As in other TRB activities, TCRP project panels serve voluntarily without compensation.

Because research cannot have the desired effect if products fail to reach the intended audience, special emphasis is placed on disseminating TCRP results to the intended users of the research: transit agencies, service providers, and suppliers. TRB provides a series of research reports, syntheses of transit practice, and other supporting material developed by TCRP research. APTA will arrange for workshops, training aids, field visits, and other activities to ensure that results are implemented by urban and rural transit industry practitioners.

TCRP provides a forum where transit agencies can cooperatively address common operational problems. TCRP results support and complement other ongoing transit research and training programs.

TCRP SYNTHESIS 180

Project J-07, Topic SA-61
ISSN 1073-4880
ISBN 978-0-309-99392-0

© 2025 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Authors herein are responsible for the originality and accuracy of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) grants permission to reproduce written material in this publication for classroom and non-commercial purposes subject to the rights of any third parties and appropriate attribution. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply NAS, TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. For other uses of the written material, users must request permission from the National Academies Press.

NOTICE

The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation, FTA, in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed or implied in this document are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors.

The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications.

The Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the sponsors of the Transit Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names or logos appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.

Published reports of the

TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM

are available from

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(800) 624-6242

and can be ordered through the Internet by going to

https://nap.nationalacademies.org

Printed in the United States of America

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. Tsu-Jae Liu is president.

The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.

The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.

Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.

The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major program divisions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to mobilize expertise, experience, and knowledge to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,500 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state departments of transportation, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation.

Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS

CRP STAFF FOR TCRP SYNTHESIS 180

Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs

Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs

Gwen Chisholm Smith, Manager, Transit Cooperative Research Program

Jamaal Schoby, Senior Program Officer

Oulimata Khoule, Senior Program Assistant

Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications

Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications

TCRP PROJECT J-07 PANEL

Rachel Dungca, Metro Transit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minneapolis, MN (Chair)

Jameson Auten, Lane Transit District, Eugene, OR

Mallory Avis, Battle Creek Transit, Battle Creek, MI

Raymond Chan, Arcadis, Kettering, OH

Roderick B. Diaz, Southern California Regional Rail Authority, Los Angeles, CA

Mark Donaghy, Petersburg, KY

Christian T. Kent, Christian T. Kent, Transit Management Consulting, LLC, Virginia Beach, VA

Beverly Neff, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, San Diego, CA

Ed F. Watt, WattADR, Rockaway Park, NY

David C. Wilcock, VHB, Boston, MA

Robert Earl Williams III, Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, Ann Arbor, MI

Tara Echols, FTA Liaison

Arthur L. Guzzetti, APTA Liaison

TOPIC SA-61 PANEL

Alex Abdun-Nabi, Capital Metro, Austin, TX

Devin Braun, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, San Diego, CA

Kevin Bueso, Chicago Regional Transportation Authority, Lake Geneva, WI

Raymond Chan, Arcadis, Kettering, OH

Juan-Carlos Hernandez, Mott MacDonald, LLC, Los Angeles, CA

Steven Magaro, Hampton Roads Transit, Norfolk, VA

Craig Toomey, New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, New Orleans, LA

Karen Winger, MASCO, Boston, MA

AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Patricia Bye and Deborah Matherly of MIRTA, LLC, prepared this report. The authors would like to thank APTA and state transit associations for sharing the survey, the transit agencies that completed it, and the individuals from the transit agencies who participated in the interviews for the case examples.

ABOUT THE TCRP SYNTHESIS PROGRAM

Transit administrators, engineers, and researchers often face problems for which information already exists, either in documented form or as undocumented experience and practice. This information may be fragmented, scattered, and unevaluated. As a consequence, full knowledge of what has been learned about a problem may not be brought to bear on its solution. Costly research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be overlooked, and due consideration may not be given to recommended practices for solving or alleviating the problem.

There is information on nearly every subject of concern to the transit industry. Much of it derives from research or from the work of practitioners faced with problems in their day-to-day work. To provide a systematic means for assembling and evaluating such useful information and to make it available to the entire transit community, the Transit Cooperative Research Program Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Commission authorized the Transportation Research Board to undertake a continuing study. This study, TCRP Project J-07, “Synthesis of Information Related to Transit Practices,” searches out and synthesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute a TCRP report series, Synthesis of Transit Practice.

This synthesis series reports on current knowledge and practice, in a compact format, without the detailed directions usually found in handbooks or design manuals. Each report in the series provides a compendium of the best knowledge available on those measures found to be the most successful in resolving specific problems.

FOREWORD

By Jamaal Schoby
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board

Severe weather events impact transit agency operations, equipment, and infrastructure. In recent decades, billions of dollars of transit assets have been destroyed by climate-related disasters. This has resulted in millions of passengers being deprived of reliable transit service. TCRP Web-Only Document 70: Improving the Resilience of Transit Systems Threatened by Natural Disasters, Volume 1: A Guide (2017) offered practices for transit systems of all sizes to absorb the impacts of disaster, recover quickly, and return rapidly to providing the services that customers rely on to meet their travel needs. While transit agencies have policies to address disruptive events and severe weather, many remain without formal emergency plans.

This synthesis documents the current state of practice around transit recovery plans. The synthesis identifies how often transit agencies have recovery plans, what is included in recovery plans, the timing of recovery, measurements of recovery success, and how agencies finance recovery. This report begins with a literature review synthesizing interdependencies of recovery, guidelines and resources for recovery, the recovery plans, and financing recovery. Then, a survey is discussed that was administered to 24 bus-only agencies to develop a better understanding of recovery plans at bus transportation agencies. In-depth case examples are then presented of five of the agencies to provide an overview of the agency recovery plan, typical recovery time, recovery approaches, local/community coordination, and any funding received for recovery. Lessons the agencies learned from their recovery experiences are then discussed. The report concludes with identifying recovery planning benefits, contents, community, funding, and resilience and then identifying eight areas for future research.

Patricia Bye and Deborah Matherly collected and synthesized the information and wrote the report, under the guidance of a panel of experts in the subject area. The members of the topic panel are acknowledged on page iv. This synthesis is an immediately useful document that records the practices that were acceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its preparation. As progress in research and practice continues, new knowledge will be added to that now at hand.

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CONTENTS

Summary

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Project Background and Objectives

1.2 Technical Approach to Project

1.3 Common Terms

1.4 Organization of the Report

Chapter 2 Review of the Literature: Recovery Plans and Recovery

2.1 Sources of Information

2.2 Overview of Recovery

2.3 Interdependencies of Recovery

2.4 Recovery Guidelines and Resources

2.5 Recovery Plans

2.6 Tools and Technology to Support Recovery

2.7 Financing Recovery

2.8 Key Takeaways

Chapter 3 Survey Results

3.1 Overview of Questionnaire

3.2 Profile of Respondents

3.3 Existence of Recovery Plans

3.4 Content of Recovery Plans

3.5 Timing of Recovery

3.6 Challenges Encountered with Recovery Plans

3.7 Tools and Technology in Recovery

3.8 Effectiveness of Recovery

3.9 Funding for Recovery

3.10 Key Takeaways

Chapter 4 Case Examples

4.1 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority

4.2 Kansas City Area Transportation Authority

4.3 King County Department of Metro Transit

4.4 Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County

4.5 New Orleans Regional Transit Authority

4.6 Key Takeaways

Chapter 5 Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Research

5.1 Conclusions

5.2 Further Review Suggestions

References

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Appendix A List of Participating Transit Agencies

Appendix B Survey Questionnaire

Appendix C FEMA Recovery Plan Outline