Date: October 1, 2020
Author(s): Eric Dasmalchi
Abstract
In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, many transit agencies have embraced real-time crowding data as a rider communication strategy. These data allow riders to see the current level of crowding on individual transit vehicles in real time. Most operators share these data using GTFS Realtime, an extension to the General Transit Feed Specification that already powers trip-planning applications such as Transit App and Google Maps. Offering these real-time data helps riders make informed travel choices that allow them, for example, to avoid crowded transit vehicles. However, actual implementations vary widely and may not always provide useful information to transit riders or other interested parties. This policy brief summarizes the current state of real-time crowding data in September 2020, and provides recommendations for ongoing improvements.
About the Project
The global COVID-19 pandemic has shocked many economic and social systems. One of the most profoundly affected has been the public transit systems that serve cities large and small. Ridership initially plummeted, service has been cut, and in some cases slashed, and public health concerns are many, and finances are increasingly tight on public transit systems around the globe, in the U.S., and here in California. To understand how public transit is evolving in the pandemic, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies researchers have looked into what transit service is changing, how it is changing, why it is changing, and for whom it is changing. The project has also examined how well the changes made affect the spread of COVID-19, and how transit can continue to safely serve the mobility needs of essential workers during the pandemic.