Where Frequent Public Transit Rules

When it comes to transit, it's quality, not just quantity.

1 minute read

June 12, 2016, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Grand Central Station

Jim Lopes / Shutterstock

A post on the TransitCenter website uses data gathered with the AllTransit tool "to analyze who exactly benefits from good transit…" 

To describe how AllTransit enabled the analysis, the post first explains that the tool "can distinguish between the transit lines that create communities of regular riders and the infrequent bus and rail service that passes for transit in too many places" when it assigns a Performance Score to "almost any address in the country."

As for the findings of the analysis, the post explains that a surprising amount of Americans live near transit in the 25 largest U.S. cities, plus three more (Atlanta, Cleveland, and Miami):

In every one of the cities analyzed, a majority of the population lives within walking distance of a bus or rail stop—even Jacksonville, Florida, which at 875 square miles is larger than 27 sovereign countries. In 13 of the 28 cities, more than 90 percent of people live within walking distance of transit.

Yet before celebrating too much over these surprisingly positive marks, AllTransit also determines that "most of the transit described above is of poor quality—that is to say, it isn’t frequent enough to be a reliable option transportation option." The post offers a infographics and clear explanations to make critical points about the quality of public transit options in U.S. cities.

Thursday, June 9, 2016 in TransitCenter

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