Two privately owned demand-responsive transportation systems were investigated to determine the economic feasibility and marketability of these systems and the roles that they play in small-to medium-sized urban areas. The 2 systems are operated by innovative taxicab companies that offer door-to-door service in 6-passenger automobiles on a shared-ride basis. This paper summarizes the results of preliminary analyses of some of the basic information collected on the daily operations of these systems. The 2 companies differ in terms of fleet size, service area, fare structure, types of service offered, market strategies, and goals. Those differences are reflected in ridership, level-of-service, and economic characteristics. Preliminary results reveal the systems to be economically viable, marketable, and important components of the total public transportation system. eEFFORTS to increase ridership on public transit systems have centered on improvements to existing systems. Among the more common solutions are fare reductions, fare subsidies for certain socioeconomic and age groups, new rolling stock, route and schedule modifications including service extensions, construction of pedestrian shelters at access points to the system, and improved informational services. In addition, a number of advertising and motivational devices have been employed to influence automobile drivers to use the bus or subway for certain trips. These are positive inducements for increasing the use of the transit system, but many negative ones have recently come into prominence. The latter usually consist of methods of restricting the use of the automobile, augmenting the cost of automobile usage, or otherwise inconveniencing the automobile user. The positive approach usually results in a slight increase in ridership although never to the extent that the transit system becomes a profitable enterprise or that it significantly reduces traffic congestion, traffic accidents, air pollution, or other problems attributed to automobile usage. The negative approach has not been implemented to any large degree. Neither approach recognizes the diversity of individual needs relative to transportation or carefully considers the actual and potential markets for alternative public transportation services.

Some think that a consumer-oriented approach to the planning of public transportation systems is needed. This approach requires the planner to identify the transportation needs of population groups and then to design a system or several systems to satisfy those needs within the limits imposed by available resources. Some transportation planners and a few public officials are beginning to realize that, in many smalland medium-sized urban areas, fixed-route and fixed-schedule bus systems have been rendered obsolete by present-day, low-density development patterns and, therefore, no longer adequately meet the needs of the majority of the public. In fact, this mode of transportation may no longer adequately serve the needs of captive riders. As a result, a considerable amount of research effort has been expended lately in analyzing a rather old concept: demand-responsive transportation. Demand-responsive transportation is usually associated with, but is by no means restricted to, the notion of small vehicles providing door-to-door service on a sharedride basis. There is some agreement among transportation planners that this type of service is more marketable and could more adequately serve a wider segment of the