published journal article

Rail transit ridership changes in COVID-19: Lessons for station area planning in California

Journal of Urban Mobility

Publication Date

December 1, 2025

Associated Project

Rail Transit Ridership in California: Lessons Learned from Station Area Assessments

Author(s)

Meiqing Li, Daniel A. Rodriguez, Susie Pike, Michael McNally

Areas of Expertise

Public Transit, Shared Mobility, & Active Transportation Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

View published journal article

Abstract

Emerging evidence suggests that the recovery of transit ridership post-COVID has been uneven, especially for rail transit. This study aims to understand the station area land use, built form, and transit network characteristics that explain station-level changes in transit ridership pre- and post-COVID, and explores the degree to which those changes are rail transit-specific or the result of overall changes in visits to station areas. Specifically, the study examines ridership changes between 2019 and 2021 for 242 rail stations belonging to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), Sacramento Regional Transit (SACRT), and LA Metro and associate those changes with the built environment, socio-demographics, and rail network characteristics around each station using regression analysis. The study also compares these changes in ridership to overall changes in activity aggregated by station area type. The study found there was an overall decrease in station-level ridership of 72 %, but changes were not uniform, with 92 stations decreasing more and 152 stations decreasing less. The study also found that ridership declined more drastically than overall station area activity across all four rail systems, which implies that rail transit riders were more sensitive to pandemic-related changes than other commuters. The findings suggest that a rail transit ridership recovery strategy should strategize to reinvent and reinforce downtowns as destinations, and shift rail transit services to appeal to non-commute travel, as well as enhance bike and pedestrian accessibility around stations.

Suggested Citation

Meiqing Li, Daniel A. Rodriguez, Susie Pike and Michael McNally (2025) “Rail transit ridership changes in COVID-19: Lessons for station area planning in California”, Journal of Urban Mobility, 8, p. 100153. Available at: 10.1016/j.urbmob.2025.100153.

Related Publications

research report | Sep 2024

Rail Transit Ridership Changes in COVID-19: Lessons from Station Area Characteristics

policy brief | Sep 2024

Decline of Rail Transit Requires New Strategies

MS Thesis

A Spatial Analysis of Vehicle Dismantling in California

Publication Date

January 1, 2025

Author(s)

Llorenc Miquel I Solé

View MS Thesis

Abstract

Vehicle dismantling facilities play a critical role in recycling metals from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). However, these facilities can impose environmental burdens on nearby communities, including noise, air pollution, and groundwater contamination, especially when operations do not comply with legal standards. While the siting of hazardous facilities has been widely studied through an environmental justice (EJ) lens, vehicle dismantlers have received limited attention. This study examines these patterns in California, highlighting their unique characteristics and implications for social and environmental equity. Using a Heteroskedastic Binary Logit model to capture local differences, this thesis shows that vehicle dismantlers are more likely to be located in census tracts with higher levels of social disadvantage, although not disproportionately in low-income areas. Composite variables, such as the CalEnviroScreen score and components of the Social Vulnerability Index, are important for predicting the presence of dismantlers, linking these facilities to broader patterns of environmental and social vulnerability. While results do not explicitly find racial disparities, findings suggest that vehicle dismantlers are concentrated in highly polluted areas, which are often disproportionately inhabited by disadvantaged populations, which raises environmental injustice concerns. Conversely, population density is also a significant factor, which is inversely correlated with the presence of vehicle dismantlers. These facilities often require substantial land, which is expensive in densely populated urban areas. A better understanding of the factors influencing the siting of these facilities is useful to craft better policies to address social and environmental injustices, promote sustainability and enhance social equity.

Suggested Citation

Llorenç Miquel i Solé (2025) A Spatial Analysis of Vehicle Dismantling in California. MS Thesis. University of California, Irvine. Available at: https://uci.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CDL_IRV_INST/17uq3m8/alma991035687099404701.

published journal article

Arterial bus lane warrants

Australian Road Research

Publication Date

January 1, 1978

Author(s)

Stephen Ritchie

Suggested Citation

S.G. Ritchie (1978) “Arterial bus lane warrants”, Australian Road Research, 8(4), pp. 63–67.

published journal article

Just Look at the Map: Bounding Environmental Review of Housing Development in California

Environmental Law

Publication Date

January 1, 2024

Author(s)

Eric Biber, Christopher Elmendorf, Nicholas Marantz, Moira O'Neill

View published journal article

Suggested Citation

Eric Biber, Christopher Elmendorf, Nicholas Marantz and Moira O'Neill (2024) “Just Look at the Map: Bounding Environmental Review of Housing Development in California”, Environmental Law, 54, p. 221. Available at: https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/envlnw54&id=237&div=&collection=.

conference paper

An approximate least-square Monte-Carlo algorithm for solving the multi-period continuous network design problem

Proceedings of the 97th annual meeting of the transportation research board

Publication Date

January 1, 2018

Author(s)

Ke Wang, Jean-Daniel Saphores

Abstract

This paper proposes a new algorithm to solve the Multi-period Continuous Network Design Problem (MPCNDP) in a real options framework. The MPCNDP aims to find the long-term optimal highway expansion plan for a road network with stochastic demand. Analytical methods, finite difference methods or Least Square Monte Carlo simulation (LSMC) are not applicable for solving the MPCNDP because of the high dimension of the stochastic demand variables and the complexity of the intrinsic complexity of the network design problem. The authors propose an algorithm, which they call â??Approximate Least Square Monte Carlo simulationâ?? (ALSMC). This algorithm applies least square regression to estimate the value of the termination payoff function without knowing the optimal capacity improvement plan. During each iteration, only a multi-period CNDP with deterministic demand needs to be solved, which dramatically reduces the computing time of each termination payoff function. The authors first test the ALSMC method on a simple example for which the exact solution is known, and show that it converges quickly to the solution. They then test the ALSMC method on a small network with 6 centroids and 16 links, which has been used as a benchmark in dozens of papers. The authors find that the ALSMC method gives quick and reasonably accurate estimates of the termination payoff function.

Suggested Citation

Ke Wang and Jean-Daniel M. Saphores (2018) “An approximate least-square Monte-Carlo algorithm for solving the multi-period continuous network design problem”, in Proceedings of the 97th annual meeting of the transportation research board, p. 18p.

published journal article

Microsimulation of flexible transit system designs in realistic urban networks

Transportation Research Record

Publication Date

January 1, 2005

Author(s)

Cristian Cortes, Laia Pages, R. (Jay) Jayakrishnan

View published journal article

Suggested Citation

Cristián E. Cortés, Laia Pagès and R. Jayakrishnan (2005) “Microsimulation of flexible transit system designs in realistic urban networks”, Transportation Research Record, 1923(1), pp. 153–163. Available at: 10.1177/0361198105192300117.

published journal article

The process of information propagation in a traffic stream with a general vehicle headway: A revisit

Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies

Publication Date

June 1, 2010

Author(s)

Bruce (Xiubin) Wang, Teresa M. Adams, Wenlong Jin, Qiang Meng

View published journal article

Suggested Citation

Bruce (Xiubin) Wang, Teresa M. Adams, Wenlong Jin and Qiang Meng (2010) “The process of information propagation in a traffic stream with a general vehicle headway: A revisit”, Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 18(3), pp. 367–375. Available at: 10.1016/j.trc.2009.05.011.

research report

Role of Vehicle Technology on Use: Joint analysis of the choice of Plug-in Electric Vehicle ownership and miles traveled

Publication Date

September 1, 2023

Author(s)

Debapriya Chakraborty, David Bunch, David Brownstone

View research report

Abstract

The increasing diversity of vehicle type holdings and growing demand for BEVs and PHEVs have serious policy implications for travel demand and air pollution. Consequently, it is important to accurately predict or estimate the preference for vehicle holdings of households as well as the vehicle miles traveled by vehicle body- and fuel-type to project future VMT changes and mobile source emission levels. Leveraging the 2019 California Vehicle Survey data, this report presents the application of a utility-based model for multiple discreteness that combines multiple vehicle types with usage in an integrated model, specifically the MDCEV model. The model results suggest the important effects of household demographics, residence location, and built environment factors on vehicle body type and powertrain choice and usage. Further the predictions associated with changes inbuilt environment factors like population density can inform the design of land-use and transportation policies to influence household vehicle holdings and usage that can in turn impact travel demand and air quality issues in California.View the NCST Project Webpage

Suggested Citation

Debapriya Chakraborty, David S. Bunch and David Brownstone (2023) Role of Vehicle Technology on Use: Joint analysis of the choice of Plug-in Electric Vehicle ownership and miles traveled. Final Report NCST-UCD-RR-23-30. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3jj3v7pw (Accessed: October 11, 2023).

published journal article

Examining the joint effects of heatwaves, air pollution, and green space on the risk of preterm birth in California

Environmental Research Letters

Publication Date

October 1, 2020

Author(s)

Yi Sun, Sindana D. Ilango, Lara Schwarz, Qiong Wang, Jiu-Chiuan Chen, Jean M. Lawrence, Jun Wu, Tarik Benmarhnia

View published journal article

Abstract

Background. Exposure to high air temperature in late pregnancy is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for preterm birth (PTB). However, the combined effects of heatwaves with air pollution and green space are still unexplored. In the context of climate change, investigating the interaction between environmental factors and identifying communities at higher risk is important to better understand the etiological mechanisms and design targeted interventions towards certain women during pregnancy. Objectives. To examine the combined effects of heatwaves, air pollution and green space exposure on the risk of PTB. Methods. California birth certificate records for singleton births (2005–2013) were obtained. Residential zip code-specific daily temperature during the last week of gestation was used to create 12 definitions of heatwave with varying temperature thresholds and durations. We fit multi-level Cox proportional hazard models with time to PTB as the outcome and gestational week as the temporal unit. Relative risk due to interaction (RERI) was applied to estimate the additive interactive effect of air pollution and green space on the effect of heatwaves on PTB. Results. In total, 1 967 300 births were included in this study. For PM2.5, PM10 and O3, we found positive additive interactions (RERIs >0) between heatwaves and higher air pollution levels. Combined effects of heatwaves and green space indicated negative interactions (RERIs 0) for more intense heatwaves. Conclusion. This study found synergistic harmful effects for heatwaves with air pollution, and potential positive interactions with lack of green space on PTB. Implementing interventions, such as heat warning systems and behavioral changes, targeted toward pregnant women at risk for high air pollution and low green space exposures may optimize the benefits of reducing acute exposure to extreme heat before delivery.

Suggested Citation

Yi Sun, Sindana D. Ilango, Lara Schwarz, Qiong Wang, Jiu-Chiuan Chen, Jean M. Lawrence, Jun Wu and Tarik Benmarhnia (2020) “Examining the joint effects of heatwaves, air pollution, and green space on the risk of preterm birth in California”, Environmental Research Letters, 15(10), p. 104099. Available at: 10.1088/1748-9326/abb8a3.

published journal article

Improving community resilience to disrupted food access: Empirical spatio-temporal analysis of volunteer-based crowdsourced food delivery

Journal of Transport Geography

Publication Date

December 1, 2024

Author(s)

Gretchen Bella, Elisa Borowski, Amanda Stathopoulos

Areas of Expertise

Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

View published journal article

Abstract

Unplanned disaster events can greatly disrupt access to essential resources, with calamitous outcomes for already vulnerable households. This is particularly challenging when concurrent extreme events affect both the ability of households to travel and the functioning of traditional transportation networks that supply resources. This paper examines the use of volunteer-based crowdsourced food delivery as a community resilience tactic to improve food accessibility during overlapping disruptions with lasting effects, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate disasters. The study uses large-scale spatio-temporal data (n = 28,512) on crowdsourced food deliveries in Houston, TX, spanning from 2020 through 2022, merged with data on community demographics and significant disruptive events occurring in the two-year timespan. Three research lenses are applied to understand the effectiveness of crowdsourced food delivery programs for food access recovery: 1) geographic analysis illustrates hot spots of demand and impacts of disasters on requests for food assistance within the study area; 2) linear spatio-temporal modeling identifies a distinction between shelter-in-place emergencies and evacuation emergencies regarding demand for food assistance; 3) structural equation modeling identifies socially vulnerable identity clusters that impact requests for food assistance. The findings from the study suggest that volunteer-based crowdsourced food delivery adds to the resilience of food insecure communities, supporting its effectiveness in serving its intended populations. The paper contributes to the literature by illustrating how resilience is a function of time and space, and that similarly, there is value in a dynamic representation of community vulnerability. The results point to a new approach to resource recovery following disaster events by shifting the burden of transportation from resource-seekers and traditional transportation systems to home delivery by a crowdsourced volunteer network.

Suggested Citation

Gretchen Bella, Elisa Borowski and Amanda Stathopoulos (2024) “Improving community resilience to disrupted food access: Empirical spatio-temporal analysis of volunteer-based crowdsourced food delivery”, Journal of Transport Geography, 121, p. 104018. Available at: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2024.104018.