5 Tips for Analyzing Transit Service

Esri offers insights into five new ways to analyze the success of transit service in cities of all kinds.

1 minute read

October 5, 2015, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"Who are the people served by your city’s transit system? And who isn’t, but should be? How does transit change throughout the day? And what is the best way to analyze service areas?" These are the type of questions communities should be asking as they invest in public transit, according to Jennifer Bell, writing a post for Esri. The article explains the concepts behind five new ways to look at transit, as enabled by transit analysis technology.

  1. "Use Service Areas instead of Buffers."
  2. Transit trips per hour.
  3. Travel times changing during the day.
  4. Travel times to destinations.
  5. Adding demographic variables.

The article also includes a story map to illustrate these new ways looking at transit when examining a case study provided transit access to public libraries in Chicago, Illinois and transit availability in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015 in ESRI

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

Nilu Jenks wears a long gray coat and speaks with one man and two women outside.

Housing is the top priority of Seattle’s sole new councilmember

Jenks campaigned on building 1,000 new units of affordable housing.

November 8 - Reason

People sit on wooden benches on a bus in Miami

New tax cuts may slash $1.5 billion in funding for Miami transit, public parks

Amendment 3 will save Miami-Dade homeowners $2,700 in 2028.

November 8 - Miami New Times

Two men install solar panels on the roof of a house.

Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania hope to finally advance climate goals post-midterms

The three states have spent years under Republican or divided control.

November 8 - Grist

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.