The primary focus of this study was to emphasize transit system energy characteristics by examining the vehicle characteristics, right-of-way characteristics and the operational aspects of the services. The objectives of this study were to become familiar with types of energy expended by local transit systems, understand the characteristics and side effects of the energy types, become familiar with vehicle and right-of-way characteristics, analyze the operational aspects to the systems, and develop an energy consumption model to determine the variance in energy consumption. The project has several phases which, to some extent, may be performed concurrently including planning, instrument development and calibration, and data base development. The project also includes the creation of energy consumption models that can be used to predict the energy needs and consumption levels of transit systems. Independent variables were identified from other studies on energy consumption/conservation and selected urban transportation agencies were surveyed.