Analytical Estimation of Transit Access Impedances

Access to transit lines has a significant impact on transit ridership. Accordingly, models developed by the UTP process very often distinguish between access time and line-haul time. A systematic technique for determining access link characteristics from a zone to a single transit stop or to a given transit line is developed herein. The methodology, programmed for a computer, allows an easy, low-cost, and consistent estimation of access times and distances from a zone. Two access models are proposed. The first model considers the case of only those users who walk to transit. In the second model, it is assumed that users walk or drive, or both, to transit according to a diversion function (a submodal split) based on distance.