Transit – Patronage or coverage? A matter or community values.

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We often ask the impossible from public transit. We want it to both have high ridership and provide coverage to as many neighborhoods as possible. We want it to both reduce automobile usage and serve those that rely on it the most.  The truth is that in many cases this is flat-out impossible and our demands are just short of ridiculous. Factors such as population and employment densities, as well as a coherent and continuous pedestrian network, play an important role on whether a given transit line can achieve the ridership rates that would make a fiscally conservative citizen smile. Figure 1, taken from the paper “Purpose-driven public transit: creating a clear conversation about public transportation goals” shows that the relation between density of development per hectare and public transit level of service. The graph shows the ideal level of service, depending on densities of the area served, with the goal of maximizing patronage. 





Figure 1: Density vs. Patronage 

As we can see areas with 12 dwellings per hectare receive marginal service levels and areas with about 49 dwellings per hectares receive good service levels. Why do cities and towns choose to run transit lines on areas with low densities when they are fully aware they will not be used as much? The issue is a matter of values. These lines often serve communities that rely on transit the most. How is a senior citizen, unable to drive a car, going to shop for groceries or make their doctor’s appointment? How is that person with little money, unable to purchase a car, going to make it to their job? Sometimes people rely on transit lines that require heavy subsides to operate and that have low ridership levels. As Jared Walker explains in his paper “Purpose-driven public transportation” and Christopher Yun in his blog post at “The Ridership-Coverage tradeoff,” the decision on whether to subsidize and how big this subsidy is going to be is decided primarily on the values of the community. Is your community going to help the ones that need it the most? or is everyone on their own?

Written by: Santiago Espinosa Wild

Edited by: Lisa Wheeler





Bibliography:

1)     Walker, Jarrett. (2008). Purpose-driven public transport: creating a clear conversation about public transportation goals.  Journal of Transport Geography,16 (6).
Retrieved from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-transport-geography/vol/16

2)     Transportation Research Board. (2001). Making Transit Work (Report 257). Washington, DC.

3)     Yuen, Christopher. (February 2018). Basics: The Ridership-Coverage Tradeoff. Human Transit. Retrieved from https://humantransit.org/2018/02/basics-the-ridership-coverage-tradeoff.html







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