ANALYSIS OF TRANSIT SERVICE AREAS USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

The transit route location and analysis problem requires the estimation of a population within the service area of a route. A route's service area is defined using walking distance or travel time. A procedure for performing service area analysis on transit routes using a geographic information system (GIS) is compared with the more common technique of buffering, and implementation strategies for three GIS packages--namely, ARC/INFO, TransCAD, and SPANS--are discussed. A case study is performed for Logan, Utah, where a new fixed-route transit system currently is being planned. The case study compares the technique proposed here with that from two other approaches. Effects of the socioeconomic data source on the accuracy of these approaches are discussed.