California is counting on public transit to help meet its ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion. Yet despite large public investments in bus and rail service, the state’s transit ridership is on the decline. ITS scholars are at the forefront of research into mass transit, from its funding and planning to passenger trends to the rider’s safety and experience, informing policymaking aimed at getting more people on board.
Lead Scholars
The Latest
Transit Blues in the Golden State: Analyzing Recent California Ridership Trends
UCLA ITS – 2020
What’s Behind Recent Transit Ridership Trends in the Bay Area?
UCLA ITS — 2020
How to Stay Safer on Mass Transit
The New York Times — 2020
Improving Transit Equity in L.A. During the Pandemic
Streetsblog LA— 2020
Post-pandemic public transit may not end up looking all that different—but its goals may have to change
Fast Company — 2020
Mass transit systems desperate for financial relief as riders stay home
The Hill — 2020
The Mystery of the Missing Bus Riders
The New York Times — 2020
Sometimes Red Means Go—When It Comes to Bus Rides
Wired — 2019
Every bus in this country deserves its own lane
Curbed — 2019
The future of America’s worst freeway
Mashable — 2019
Op-Ed: L.A.’s slow buses aren’t just shedding riders, they’re becoming climate liabilities
LA Times — 2019
How Cities Are Trying to Reinvent the Bus
The Wall Street Journal — 2019
Starting in Los Angeles, Body Scanners Come to Subways and Buses
The New York Times — 2018
Falling Transit Ridership Poses an ‘Emergency’ for Cities, Experts Fear
Washington Post — 2018
Southern Californians Are on a Car-Buying Spree, and That’s Cutting Deeply Into Transit Ridership, Study Says
Los Angeles Times — 2018
More Poorer Residents Are Driving Cars, Presenting New Issues for Transit Agencies
Governing — 2018
Why is L.A. Expanding Transit — and Losing Riders?
CityLab — 2018
Why the #MeToo Movement is a Public Transportation Issue
Washington Post — 2017
Can the Valley’s Orange Line — the Nation’s Most Successful BRT — Get Any Respect?
Curbed — 2017
The Capital of Car Culture, Los Angeles Warms to Mass Transit
New York Times — 2016
Don’t Change the Orange Line to Rail — Improve It First
Los Angeles Times — 2016
TV Finally Gets On Board With Mass Transit
National Public Radio — 2016
How to Make LA Buses and Subway a Safer Place
KPCC — 2015
Public Transit’s Dirty Little Secret: Most Transit Users Are Poor
Brian D. Taylor, Eric A. Morris — 2014
Selected Research Publications
A Taste for Transit? Analyzing Public Transit Use Trends Among Youth
Anne E. Brown, Evelyn Blumenberg, Brian D. Taylor, Kelcie Ralph, Carole Turley Voulgaris — 2016
The past decade has seen a decline in driving among youth. Does this portend an increase in public transit ridership? While young adults are more likely to ride transit than older adults, analyzing patterns of youth transit use show that life cycle, demographic, and locational factors suggest that travel behavior established early in life may not necessarily persist as people age.
Does Transit Mean Business? Reconciling Economic, Organizational, and Political Perspectives on Variable Transit Fares
Allison C. Yoh, Brian D. Taylor, John Gahbauer — 2015
Transit fares can vary by mode, distance, and time to reflect the marginal costs of providing transit service, increasing the efficiency and equity of transit service. Recent advances in smartcard fare collection technologies have reduced the operational obstacles to charging variable fares, yet relatively few transit agencies are doing so. Why are transit managers and their governing boards so reluctant to adopt variable fare policies?
Why Do Voters Support Public Transportation? Public Choices and Private Behavior
Michael Manville, Benjamin Cummins — 2014
Support for transportation sales tax elections is often used as a proxy for public support for transit. But many voters who support such taxes do not support increased transit spending, and many people who support transit spending do not support increased sales taxes to finance it. Transit spending is more correlated with belief in its collective rather than private benefits, as most transit spending supporters do not use transit and are unlikely to begin doing so. Can this collective action problem be solved?
Public Transportation Objectives and Rider Demographics: Are Transit’s Priorities Poor Public Policy?
Brian D. Taylor, Eric A. Morris — 2014
Strong public and political support for mass transit in the U.S. is based on lofty goals, including congestion reduction, economic development, aesthetics, sustainability, and much more. Yet the pursuit of multiple and broad objectives, however worthy, can diffuse efforts and fail to achieve desired results. How can policymakers focus on the needs of transit riders themselves, particularly the poor and transit-dependent?
Other Research
Transit Blues in the Golden State: Analyzing Recent California Ridership Trends
Evelyn Blumenberg, Mark Garrett, Hannah King, Julene Paul, Madeline Ruvolo, Andrew Schouten, Brian D. Taylor, Jacob Wasserman — 2020
What’s Behind Recent Transit Ridership Trends in the Bay Area?
Evelyn Blumenberg, Mark Garrett, Hannah King, Julene Paul, Madeline Ruvolo, Andrew Schouten, Brian D. Taylor, Jacob Wasserman — 2020
Falling Transit Ridership: California and Southern California
Michael Manville, Brian D. Taylor, Evelyn Blumenberg — 2018
Transit in the 2000s: Where does it stand and where is it headed?
Michael Manville, Brian D. Taylor, Evelyn Blumenberg — 2018
What motivates public support for public transit?
Michael Manville, Adam Seth Levine — 2018
TransitWiki.org
Juan Matute — ongoing
Recent Projects
PI: Ryan Yowell Team:
Improving first/last mile conditions near highways: An investigation of access and coordination barriers
PI: Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris Team:
Connecting the Dots… Ridership Changes, Underlying Causes, and Strategies for Pasadena Transit
PI: Jesus Peraza Team:
Where to Go While on the Go: An Analysis of Restrooms on Select Metro Stations.
PI: Fabian Campos Team: Martin Wachs
Advancing a Mobility as a Service: Lessons Learned from Leading-Edge Public Agencies
PI: Tomoko Kanda Team:
A Time and a Place for Every Rider?: Geographic and Temporal Changes in Bay Area Transit Ridership
PI: Jacob Wasserman Team:
Data needs in public transit research
PI: Brian D. Taylor Team: Jacob Wasserman
TOD and Changes in Jobs, Housing, and the Commute
PI: Evelyn Blumenberg Team:
Dynamic Optimization and Network Analysis for Bus Transportation for the Los Angeles Unified School District
PI: Mason Porter Team:
Public Transportation Safety among University Students
PI: Madeline Brozen, Miriam Pinski Team:
