Full Citation
Title: The Effects of COVID-19 on Los Angeles Metro Bus Ridership
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2021
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Abstract: In California, removing cars from the road by expanding transit ridership is lauded as a large part of climate change action. Buses and trains are the most efficient ways to move people and are a necessary element for mitigating traffic congestion. In addition, because the transit-dependent are overwhelmingly low-income, communities of color, a safe, reliable public transportation system is a social justice issue. In Los Angeles County, bus ridership was already declining before COVID-19. This research hopes to fill the gap on what ridership was lost due to the pandemic and how that loss varies spatially. Using station/stop-level Los Angeles County Metro bus ridership data aggregated into census block groups as the dependent variable, a Spatial Lag Regression and a Getis-Ord were performed. Built environment as well as demographic data was used to evaluate ridership between 2019 and 2020, considered pre and during pandemic. The results indicate that, in addition to land use diversity, percentage of persons of color, median household income, and median age, COVID-19 had a huge impact on Metro bus ridership. While most recent public transit expansion has focused on rail, bus and bus rapid transit would be a better avenue for creating an equitable transportation system for the riders that abandoned busses in much smaller numbers than their higher income, whiter counterparts. In the hot spot areas of Gateway Cities, Southbay, and Westside Central that generates 34.38% of ridership, the level of service was only 27.95% of total service studied. Boosting service to match ridership in those areas would serve Los Angeles County’s most loyal and/or captive riders of public transportation. As the residents of these hot spots also match the profile of the essential worker, serving these residents would help to make Los Angeles more resilient in the next public health emergency.
Url: https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/jq085r35m
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Authors: Gleason, Questa
Institution: California State Polytechnic University
Department: Urban and Regional Planning
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Publisher Location: Pomona
Pages: 1-141
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Land Use/Urban Organization
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