Transit System Vulnerability and Resilience

Project Description

Transit systems are critical infrastructure in California, capable of bringing more people into dense urban areas than any other transportation mode. The centers of California’s megaregions cannot function without transit service. Transit expansion serves also as a backbone for California’s transition to low-carbon mobility and housing densification and affordability.

Because California’s transit systems are owned and operated by hundreds of individual agencies, public transit is not subject to the same comprehensive, statewide resilience assessments as other critical infrastructure such as the state highway system, energy distribution, and water treatment and distribution.

Like these other infrastructure systems, California’s transit systems are subject to a wide array of hazards, including from seismic events. However, unlike these other critical infrastructure systems, a few key nodes (locations) within the statewide transit network are supercritical for maintaining system functionality following an earthquake. Assessing and enhancing resilience at these critical nodes is an essential first step in assessing the seismic vulnerability of California’s transportation network.