Public Transit in America: Analysis of Access Using the 2001 National Household Travel Survey

Abstract

Understanding transit ridership has become a critical research interest and policy goal.\nThis paper presents the results of an analysis of the NHTS data specifically focusing on the\nappended variables that measure access or distances to public transportation. Statistically\nsignificant distance intervals were chosen for analysis respective of a chosen variable. This\ndocument augments the report titled “Public Transit in America: Results from the 2001 National\nHousehold Travel Survey.”\nThe analysis reveals strong differences in household and workplace access to transit as a\nfunction of race, income, auto ownership, and urban area size. Additionally, a very high sensitivity\nto access exists suggesting that the share of transit accessible trips is smaller than previously\nacknowledged. Approximately 53 percent of national households are within a mile of bus service\nand 40 percent within a quarter-mile. Approximately 10 percent of the population lives within one\nmile of rail. Over 50 percent of nationwide workplaces are within a quarter mile walk radius of a\nbus line. Not surprisingly, work is more closely concentrated near transit than are residences.\nFurthermore, mode share for transit declines approximately two thirds beyond the first interval (up\nto 0.15 miles) from a bus route. These observations imply a high value to services in close\nproximity to residential areas. The analysis suggests that access is even more critical than might\nhave previously been acknowledged by the transit planning profession.\n

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