Pandemic transit: examining transit use changes and equity implications in Boston, Houston, and Los Angeles.

ABSTRACT: While the COVID-19 pandemic upended many aspects of life as we knew it, its effects on U.S. public transit were especially dramatic. Many former transit commuters began to work from home or switched to traveling via private vehicles. But for those who continued to work outside the home and could not drive-who were more likely low-income and Black or Hispanic-transit remained an important means of mobility. However, most transit agencies reduced service during the first year of the pandemic, reflecting reduced ridership demand, increasing costs, and uncertain budgets. To analyze the effects of the pandemic on transit systems and their users, we examine bus ridership changes by neighborhood in Boston, Houston, and Los Angeles from 2019 to 2020. Combining aggregated stop-level boarding data,

SUBMITTER: Paul J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9616403 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature