A GIS-Aided Decision-Making Process for Selecting Bus Stops for ADA Improvements

Inaccessible bus stops prevent people with disabilities from using fixed-route bus services, thus limiting their mobility. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prescribes the minimum accessibility requirements for bus stops. However, due to budget limitation, transit agencies can only select a limited number of bus stops for ADA improvements each year. To maximize the impact of these improvements, it is desirable that bus stops be selected such that they will maximize the overall benefits to patrons with disabilities. This paper describes a GIS-aided decision-making process that aims to select, within the constraint of an allocated budget, a priority list of bus stops for ADA improvements. Many factors can affect the decision to select a bus stop over the other bus stops for ADA improvements. A total of six factors were identified and used to measure the benefits to the disabled riders at each bus stop. Using ArcGIS network analysis, bus stop service areas based on the actual street network and the probability of demand were created to more accurately estimate bus stop accessibility. Bus stops that share the same sidewalk improvements are also taken into account. By applying an optimization model to the GIS-processed input data and budget constraints, a list of bus stops could be identified such that they would maximize the benefits to riders with disabilities. Compared to usual bus stops improvements, based on staff experience or requests from elected officials, the GIS-aided decision-making process described in this paper provides a more reasonable and flexible platform on which to identify bus stops for ADA improvements.