Transit Demand & Equity Scores
High-quality data is essential to the creation of more equitable transportation systems. Granular, multi-dimensional, and privacy-preserving data — with detailed attributes on demographic and socioeconomic factors — can make the difference between equity aspiration and equity action.
Replica’s unique data on people and mobility activity supports the journey toward more equitable transportation networks. Within a few clicks, Replica data can reveal meaningful insights about the mobility needs of demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic cohorts of the population. Our privacy-safe approach gives customers confidence that they can prioritize the needs of local communities and provide evidence for how IIJA projects meet federal Justice40 guidelines.
- Study mobility activity of people who don’t own cars
- See how well transit serves people for work, shopping, errands, and other trip purposes
- Identify opportunities to reduce car reliance and enhance active transportation
- Analyze site locations to understand how workers and consumers travel to, from, or near a place of interest
- See how the existing transportation network connects disadvantaged and underserved communities to education, health care, food, and other basic needs
- Assess exposure to transportation emissions at the local level with data on residential VMT and freight travel activity
- Integrate Replica’s granular mode-split data with local crash data for novel analyses on pedestrian risk
- Disaggregated data and multivariable analyses allow you to drill down into your communities’ activities and needs like never before
- Upload custom geographies (including Justice40 Disadvantaged Community maps) to ensure your projects meet Justice40 + BIL equity guidelines
- Replica data can help you achieve What Works Certification for Data-Driven Decision-Making, which focuses on equity
Replica is the only company offering composite disaggregated datasets that enable you to analyze individual trip characteristics and the sociodemographic and socioeconomic traits of people making those trips (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, income, home location, work location).
Use Cases
Learn about Replica's Work with Transit Demand & Equity
Fulton County, GA: Transportation Access
Inspired by the 2022 TRB Annual Meeting session, “State DOTs: Creating Pathways to Equity,” we looked at long-duration trips by low-income residents of Fulton County who do not have access to a private automobile. The study shows concentrations of trip destinations overlaid on the transit network.
Insights"
- Understand the extent to which the existing transit network serves the transit-dependent population.
- Inform strategies to create “pathways to equity” by analyzing existing conditions.
East New York: Access to Opportunity
As noted in a January 2022 NYS press release announcing nearly $1 billion in financing for affordable housing, there are “chronic discrepancies in access to healthcare, housing and services in Central Brooklyn’s neighborhoods.”
This map shows the destinations of long-duration shopping and errands trips among residents of East New York.
Insights:
- Understand access to basic needs among residents of a study area.
- Inform planning and placemaking initiatives by identifying existing inequities.
Columbus, OH: Intersectional Impact in Justice40 Disadvantaged Communities (DACs)
The Justice40 Initiative calls for at least 40% of the benefits from certain federal investments to accrue to Disadvantaged Communities (DACs). Using the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) interim definition of DACs, we looked at travel patterns of nonwhite residents of DACs — the map shows network link volumes along major roadways in and around Columbus, OH.
Insights:
- Leverage custom geographies to analyze travel patterns in addition to home locations of DAC residents.
- Position for federal funding through discretionary grant programs under the umbrella of Justice40.
New Jersey Transit
Transportation Management & Design (TMD) performed an equity analysis for New Jersey Transit (NJT) to better understand ridership. Creating equitable transit system means increasing access to service at all times of day throughout the week. If done right, transit becomes more convenient for a broader group of people and for a wider variety of trips. TMD used Replica data to model travel volumes per day and compare this with transit service. By layering in demographic data, and disaggregate information on how disadvantaged communities travel, TMD was able to produce recommendations on how to modify service schedules to provide access to a wider rider base.
App Details
Replica has released two new metrics designed to empower transit agencies in adapting to today’s evolving landscape:
TRANSIT DEMAND SCORE: Answers questions about where demand for service is highest and where it would be most utilized if made available.
TRANSIT EQUITY SCORE: Answers questions about the existing public transit system and how it serves the portion of the community that utilizes transit the most.Agencies can use these metrics to answer questions such as: How well does my existing network cover the areas of my city with the highest transit demand? To what extent do existing transit stops provide connectivity (e.g., access to jobs and essential services) for the most burdened portions of our population? Where do high transit demand and disadvantaged communities overlap to identify the potential for enhancing last-mile connections?
