Visualizing Transit Reliability (Or Not)

A new tool in Miami could use broader application in cities around the country (hint hint).

1 minute read

February 21, 2018, 12:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Government Center Station Miami

FrickFrack / Wikimedia Commons

Douglas Hanks reports on a new real-time tracker of Metrorail trains in Miami, created by the advocacy group Transit Alliance. The tracker uses online data from the county to calculate the number of late trains, presenting their findings in a colorful and useable online display.

On the Metrorail Audit page, each train is represented by a dot with a color representing the arrival time. While the page shows today's trains in chronological order, it also offers a view of the previous day's trains grouped by their arrival performance. The site also lets us know that at the time of this writing there have been 235 on-time trains, 618 late or bunched trains, and 111 ghost trains in the past week.

Jarrett Walker picked up the news of the Transit Alliance tracker and gave it a stamp of approval, noting especially the tracker's focus on headways (wait times) rather than on-time performance.  Walker concludes his post about the tracker with an appeal for an institute "to create a database of reliability info across many agencies, searchable many ways — and always based on this headway reliability rather than on-time performance."

Hat tip to Rachel Dovey for sharing news of the Transit Alliance tracker

Wednesday, January 24, 2018 in Miami Herald

stack of books

Planetizen’s Top Planning Books of 2023

The world is changing, and planning with it.

November 24, 2023 - Planetizen Team

Close-up of 'Red Line Subway Entry' sign with Braille below and train logo above text in Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago Red Line Extension Could Transform the South Side

The city’s transit agency is undertaking its biggest expansion ever to finally bring rail to the South Side.

November 24, 2023 - The Architect's Newspaper

Green Paris Texas city limit sign with population.

How Paris, Texas Became a ‘Unicorn’ for Rural Transit

A robust coalition of advocates in the town of 25,000 brought together the funding and resources to launch a popular bus service that some residents see as a mobility lifeline—and a social club.

November 30, 2023 - Texas Monthly

Green painted bike lane on street next to modern mid-rise apartment buildings in Seattle, Washington.

Seattle’s Bike Infrastructure Hamstrings Growth

Design standards that call for minimal road space allocated to bikes are limiting the growth of cycling in the city.

2 hours ago - The Urbanist

Tall palm trees against bright blue sky with snowy mountains in background. Los Angeles, California.

Winter Fun at Los Angeles County Parks

L.A. County is offering a winter edition of its popular and award-winning Parks After Dark program, providing opportunities for residents to come together and have fun in safe and welcoming spaces.

3 hours ago - NBC 4

Bird's eye view of houses in midtown Sacramento, California.

Sacramento Council Approves Upzoning Proposal

If given final approval, the plan would increase the allowable floor area ratio to permit denser housing development in single-family neighborhoods and near transit.

4 hours ago - Sacramento Business Journal

Senior Planner

City of Kissimmee - Development Services

Planner II

City of Kissimmee - Development Services

Senior Travel Demand Modeler

Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

"Rethinking Commuter Rail" podcast & Intercity Bus E-News

Chaddick Institute at DePaul University

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.