A Comprehensive Transit Accessibility and Equity Dashboard

Abstract

The TransitCenter Equity Dashboard tracks how well public transit systems in seven densely populated urban regions in the United States serve their riders and how changes to transit service affect riders over space, time, and cost constraints. The dashboard presents a series of charts and interactive maps that can be used to evaluate variations in transit accessibility and equity. It was created using publicly available data and primarily open-source software. All measures can be accessed by users seeking to conduct their own analyses. Results demonstrate differences in agency responses to COVID-19 as well as baseline transit service levels provided to different demographic groups.

Equity in Active and Shared Transportation: An Investigation of Barriers and Individual and Contextual Factors

“…The findings show that more Asians, particularly in Los Angeles, believe public transportation is inaccessible. According to the TransitCenter Equity Dashboard, Asian, Black, and Latinx transit riders have lower levels of job access ( 5 ). This type of geographical analysis might be used in transit planning to identify and target high-need groups, allowing transit service to be prioritized for those who need it most while also supporting jobs in communities of color.…”

“…One of the main barriers preventing individuals from using active and shared transportation is lack of physical access or excessive walking distance to connect ( 5–7 ). One study developed a public transit equity impact simulation platform based on investment using a combination of mathematical and optimization techniques ( 8 ).…”

Evaluating public transit agency responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in seven U.S. regions

“…We gathered quantitative data on public transit service delivered during 2020 as well as primary-source materials describing pandemic-related service changes. The quantitative data capturing transit service delivery were gathered from the TransitCenter Equity Dashboard (TED), which uses public transit routes and schedules released by transit agencies and other publicly available demographic information to generate multiple estimates of public transit system performance monthly from February 2020 through February 2021 in seven U.S. regions ( Klumpenhouwer et al, 2021 ). Here, we used the TED’s measure of “transit service intensity,” which reports population-weighted average hourly trips in each block group for a typical Wednesday.…”

“…We drew our cases from a larger project on public transit access changes during the Covid-19 pandemic sponsored by TransitCenter ( Da Silva et al, 2022 , Klumpenhouwer et al, 2021 ). That work focused on public transit service in seven regions (defined by their metropolitan statistical areas), whose principal cities are Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco-Oakland, and Washington D.C.…”

Optimal Design of Integrated Semi-Flexible Transit Services in Low-Demand Conditions

“…Several transit agencies in North America suggest SFT as an interesting solution to respond to the growing demand for expensive paratransit services and the high operating cost of FBT in low-demand conditions [4]. Regina transit in Canada facing a similar situation has recently piloted a flexible transit service along a least frequently used route hoping to increase ridership and the vehicle used is accessible with spots reserved for wheelchairs/mobility devices [5]. While paratransit demand continues to grow in many North American communities, some transit operators, including Regina Transit, are providing training and incentives to help shift trips from paratransit/DRT to less costly modes like FBT and SFT [6].…”