Date: June 1, 2021
Author(s): Edgar Mejia
Abstract
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has allocated significant resources (time, money, political) to rework their bus network through the NextGen initiative, the first sweeping overhaul of the bus system in 25 years. Because such overhaul of a bus system requires extensive resources, the next major restructuring of Metro’s bus routes will not occur for at least another decade or two. Thus, it is imperative that Metro aligns their bus service where people actually travel to, rather than merely supporting existing Metro routes. This project analyzes major travel patterns across L.A. County to spot any possible bus service recommendations explicitly not identified in NextGen. Major travel is assessed utilizing Metro’s location-based service (LBS) cell-phone database, Metro’s ridership data, and Census “OnTheMap” data. Though our analysis corroborates NextGen’s study revealing most trips in LA County are under 5 miles, we found notable exceptions. For the exceptions, namely in the South Bay, Gateway Cities, and the San Fernando Valley, this project provides critical service opportunities to match Metro service to observed travel patterns. Finally, we suggest a pilot microtransit program, a low-cost investment, to test the actual demand strength of proposed service suggestions.
About the Project
Travel patterns have been significantly altered due to COVID-19. However, LA Metro experienced the smallest percent drop in public transit ridership during this time. Though no public confirmation is currently available, anecdotally, we are witnessing sustained ridership in non-traditional peak hour traffic areas such as in South Los Angeles, and low-income neighborhoods in the South Bay. I will analyze travel patterns from NextGen research to better understand public transportation travel patterns. The project topic would involve identifying multiple low-cost opportunities to adjust LA Metro bus services to improve customer experience by better matching LA Metro service to major travel patterns as identified from Metro’s LBS cell phone database as well as Census “On the Map” data and Metro ridership data. The analysis would include reviewing changes to travel patterns and volumes (as seen in cell phone data patterns) resulting from the impact of COVID-19.