Mapping and Accessibility Analysis of Virginia Transit Systems

Growing demand for transportation in Virginia and a limited budget for public transit have led the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT) to explore ways to improve the accessibility and related efficiencies of local bus systems. The effort described in this paper develops a prototype of a mapping analysis that can be used to assess the effectiveness of the Virginia bus system on a statewide level. A database and a mapping model is developed using Geographic Information Systems technology and is used to perform analysis of current transit accessibility. The creation of the map of bus stops involves the aggregation of stop location data from fifteen of the larger localities throughout Virginia. Using the mapping model, the overall effectiveness of the Virginia bus system is determined by calculating the total number of residents served by buses in the state. Population data are compared to funding and revenue levels by locality. The effort analyzes individual transit systems by assessing the proximity of bus stops to residential and commercial areas in individual transit systems. The analysis provides insight to comparing the efficiencies of the transit systems. The scope of the analysis may be expanded in future work to provide the VDRPT with a tool that can be used to increase overall transit efficiency and improve methods for allocation of funding.