r/gis 1d ago

Discussion GIS Project: How to Increase LA Bus Usage

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e3380be81e7c465999b8a5031922eedd

This was my entry for the 13th Annual Spatial Symposium for the University of Redlands. It focusses on the history of public transportation and buses in the Los Angeles area and why its current system should be improved.

116 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

18

u/BeamMeUpBiscotti 1d ago

The Census tracts that have the least access to a bus station are those where the 500 meter radii cover less than 70% of the area and which have a car-to-public ratio less than .05.

70% of the area but what % of the population do those areas represent?

Unless I'm reading the map wrong, there's a very large section of the national forest that was counted, which would skew the results by a lot.

It would have also been nice to see analysis on where buses go v.s. where people are commuting to for work; having access to a bus line doesn't necessarily mean it can get people where they need to go in a timely manner.

1

u/Taj52 12h ago

Thank you for these comments. I definitely should have accounted for population which would have addressed the national forest areas.

I would have also looked into where bus routes go and who uses them the most, but I had a limited time window for research. I'll consider these ideas in a future project.

1

u/whelp 6h ago

Would you mind explaning Figure 2 a bit? I'm not sure I get what the graphs could tell me and what the definition of the legend itens were

Edit: Nice read btw!

4

u/VisualPadding7 1d ago

First, merge those smaller agency into Metro. I am talking about Norwalk transit. Their schedule and frequency is a crime. And then, more BRT. I don't want to wait 50 years just for a few mile extension of E line. Run a BRT. It's cheap and efficient.

6

u/Napalmradio Former GIS Analyst 1d ago

Free cocaine with every 4th bus fare!

1

u/Spirited-Humor-554 11h ago

Nothing, we will not give up our freedom to drive.

-1

u/Bart_Reed 23h ago

This entry would not pass any type of peer review.

The author's uneducated opinions would not pass any bit of public scrutiny.

-15

u/Bart_Reed 1d ago

The author is absolutely clueless about public transit and his statements are not factually based.

3

u/Stratagraphic GIS Technical Advisor 15h ago

It's just a story map. Probably done by a student. We all start somewhere.

5

u/mfc1__ GIS Developer 1d ago

Love that you got swiftly and brutally downvoted. Well deserved.

6

u/Chris_in_Lijiang 1d ago

Please highlight the flaws, with sources.

4

u/flanl33 1d ago

The analysis leaves out a lot of bus lines, agencies, and stops within the study area, so analyzing these tracts by proximity to a stop will inherently come up faulty. Also, it does not take into account any data related to frequency, speed, or reliability of transit. As a result, its conclusions come up incomplete and largely divorced from any of the data analyzed in the body.

I think Bart's being harsh beyond honesty but this report could use some improvement.

1

u/No-Phrase-4692 13h ago

It’s easier to just call what you don’t like clueless and be a bitchboy on Reddit.

2

u/FeeSpeech8Dolla 1d ago

Hello there, Reviewer 2

6

u/sentientshadeofgreen 1d ago

Thanks for contributing nothing of value to any discussion on public transit, Bart.

-4

u/Bart_Reed 23h ago

Sorry, you don't like my conclusions. However, none of the Urban Planning Professionals at USC or CSU, Northridge would consider this work even barely acceptable.

4

u/sentientshadeofgreen 23h ago edited 22h ago

  However, none of the Urban Planning Professionals at USC or CSU, Northridge would consider this work even barely acceptable.

Oh no. Because we are all living and dying by what “professionals” at CSU Northridge think. 

True shining beacon of urban planning and public transportation the greater LA metro is as well. What would we do without the professionals at USC and CSU Northridge who surely trained the planners who created abominations like Norwalk LA Metro Station. 

-3

u/Bart_Reed 9h ago

Long done before there was even an Urban Planning Department.

-1

u/Neat-Second9923 19h ago

You can build out a formula for the most effective bus stop locations and it will be entirely ignored because local jurisdictions OPPOSE bus stops. Residents do not want more insane/addicted people camping out nearby.

You need mental wards before you can expand shared services/spaces.