A Methodology for Choosing Transit Service Reductions during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Question of Equity

Social disparities in public transportation were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic due to transit authorities reducing transit based on ridership demand. By not observing rider socio-demographics, transit authorities potentially left captive riders/essential workers who commute by bus without a means of travel. This raises the question "Were captive riders/essential workers able to commute by bus during the pandemic?" This research sought to answer this question with the alternative approach of geospatial extracting census data and creating partial least squares regression (PLSR) models. Composed of census demographics within a 0.25-mi radius along three bus routes in Austin, TX, that either continued, reduced, or canceled operations during the pandemic, the PLSR models profiled riders who commute via transit. Results indicated that equitable travel was provided to riders along the continued route; however, the reduction and cancellation of the other routes forced essential workers, such as people in education and healthcare, to search for alternative forms of travel to commute.