A Model Framework for Analyzing Public Transit Connectivity and Its Application in a Large-scale Multi-modal Transit Network

Abstract

Public transportation is essential for mobility of users especially in urban areas where transit connectivity plays a crucial role in achieving acceptable travel experience. Improvement of transit connectivity is also a critical component of transit-operations planning. The objective of this research is to develop a unique approach to measure transit connectivity that does not require transit ridership data and transit assignment models. The methodology incorporates a graph theory approach to determine the performance of large-scale multimodal transit networks by quantifying measures of connectivity at multiple levels such as transit stops, links and lines. A connectivity index is developed considering unique qualities of each transit line and stop such as location of nodes in terms of activity density, frequency at which each node is served, capacity of the transit line serving a node and speed of bus or rail serving the line when developing the connectivity index. The methodology is applied (as a case study) in two urban areas to determine public transit connectivity of large multimodal transit system using General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data along with some demographic and socio-economic data. The new connectivity index significantly extends the set of performance analysis tools that decision- makers can use to assess the efficiency of the transit system.

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