Research

Project Number:
03-24

Research Project:
Increasing Bus Transit Ridership:Dynamics fo Density, Land Use, and Population Growth

P.I. Name & Address:
Tridib Banerjee
School of Policy, Planning, and Development
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA90089-0626
Tel:(213) 740-4724
Fax:(213) 740-0373
Email: tbanerje@usc.edu

Co-P.I.s:
Dowell Myers
Clara Irazabal

Project Objective:
The purpose of this proposal is to develop strategies to increase ridership in bus transit corridors.Over the next two decades, California is expected to add 11-16 million new residents and over four million new households.With significant population and employment growth projected in the future, there is a serious concern over increasing traffic congestion and lengthening of commute times.There is a growing interest in well-integrated land use and transportation strategies to accommodate population growth in higher densities and in-fill development in existing urban areas.

Transit Corridor Development (TCD) offers communities an alternative to the impacts of low-density suburban sprawl and automobile-dependent land use patterns.New in-fill, mixed use and higher density development along existing transit corridors can make significant progress towards improving mobility options and quality of life. Yet, a recent California Department of Transportation study, Statewide Transit-Oriented Development Study: Factors for Success in California (May 2002) suggests that the predominant land use around majority of significant bus corridors and stations remains low-density automobile-oriented development. Moreover, local zoning and development codes (FAR, parking requirements, allowable uses and densities) remain transit-unfriendly.This calls for systematic studies of existing transit corridors to examine the dynamics of land use and density changes in these areas.

This proposal focuses on Ventura Boulevard and Vermont Avenue as a comparative study of two distinctly different, and two of the most heavily subscribed bus transit corridors in the Los Angeles area, with diverse service, ridership, land use, travel, demographic, and socio-economic patterns.For the purposes of this study walkable distance from transit routes and stops will define the width of the transit corridors.Our intent is to compare the demographic, land use, and urban form changes in these corridors. It is our aim to document and understand the underlying dynamics of population growth and density as they relate to transit ridership, and to determine the role of land use and zoning changes corresponding to market response and public policy.The questions we expect to address are essentially these: How has population growth in the past decades contributed to higher density, in-fill and mixed-use development in these bus transit corridors?To what extent have land use and zoning ordinances in various localities traversed by the transit corridors helped or hindered such development?Which communities have responded to the new imperatives of smart growth, increased density, and increased transit access along these corridors, and how?

Task Descriptions:
1. Data Collection and Literature Review (4 months)
2. Trends and Data Analysis (6 months)
3 Strategies and Recommendations (6 months)

Milestones, Dates:
June 1, 2003 - May 31, 2004; final draft report 5/31/04

Total Budget:
$90,000

Student Involvement:
One Student @ 25% time 9 months; One Student @ 25% time, 4.5 months

Relationship to Other Research Projects:
Related to 99-11, 99-22; part of mobility of urban populations focus area

Technology Transfer Activities:
Research to be conducted in cooperation with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority; project report posted on the website

Potential Benefits of the Project:
Increase public transit use

TRB Keywords:
Public transit; land use

Primary Subject:
Behavioral sciences and human performance

Goals:
Mobility

Enabling Research:
Human performance and behavior; energy and environment

Modal Orientation:
Transit