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Spatial Disparities in Public Transit Accessibility for the Flagstaff Metro Region - Accessibility has gained prominence as a transportation planning framework as many urban
areas shift focus toward sustainable transportation promotion and less road infrastructure
expansion. An outcome of this pivot from mobility to accessibility is the need for continued
advancement in the measurement of accessibility and application of this concept to evaluate social, environmental, and economic performance of transportation systems. Further, in order for accessibility to become a fundamental measurement of sustainable transportation success, a need remains to develop clear and justifiable models that support urban sustainability policies such as improved public transit access. This study describes the design and application of a nuanced cumulative opportunities metric of transit accessibility in the Flagstaff, Arizona metropolitan region. Using General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data and spatial analysis techniques to inform zonal bus access to job locations, cumulative travel time was calculated into three sets of matrices that incorporate transit stop walk access from residences, system-facilitated travel between bus stops, and transit stop walk access to workplaces. This zonal measure of cumulative travel time was then linked to employment distribution in the region to determine transit job accessibility across the region, which enabled an evaluation of barriers in transit access to employment opportunities for underserved communities. In all, this research introduces a nuanced approach to measuring transit accessibility and offers a proof of concept intended to help inform local transit planning activities, programs, and policies.
