MODELING TRANSIT SERVICE AREAS (ABRIDGMENT)

Transit access is defined as a measure of the ability or propensity of a population to use transit. Transit access modes are usually defined as walking, park-and-ride, kiss-and-ride, paratransit feeder, transit-feeder, taxi, or bicycle. This research is directed toward the development of tools for planning access to transit systems that address the impact of access characteristics on ridership and aid in the normative definition of the area served by transit. A methodology to evaluate and plan for access is developed. Nonlinear models based on empirical data are developed to estimate cumulative distributions for (a) walk to local bus, (b) walk to suburban bus, (c) walk to express bus, (d) park-and-ride to express commuter rail, and (e) park-and-ride to express bus. Equations are presented that can be used to determine ridership percentages that originate within user-specified times or distances around a transit stop, and the access distances or time within which normatively specified ridership percentages originate. (Author)