Building a socially-aware solution to the urban transit routing problem

Public transit ridership in the United States has been decreasing, which is especially true for bus ridership. Some of the factors that drive this decrease include fuel prices, housing density, and employment levels, but these are factors well beyond a transit agency’s control. A common reason riders cite for not taking public transit is a concern for personal well-being because the physical separation provided by a vehicle is not available in public transit, and with perceptions of safety contributing to declining ridership, agencies have limited resources available to address such concerns. So, where can public transit agencies make impacts? One potential solution is to optimize a public transit network to increase rider comfort.