Best Practices: Transit Propensity and Community Needs: Providing Insight to Create Equitable Transit Systems

To create equitable transit systems, understanding the location of key populations and the mobility needs of those populations is critical. Agencies with access to comprehensive data, be it internal or from the U.S. census, can plan for a seamless and equitable transit system that works best for as many as possible.

One example of maximizing such data is the recently completed CONNECT Beyond Regional Mobility Plan, led by the Centralina Regional Council, for the greater Charlotte, N.C., region. The plan relies on transit propensity maps — using publicly available data to determine where transit is most needed in the region. These interactive maps highlight various population concentrations, such as the proportion of elderly and disabled residents, low-income and access to essential services. Insight gained from these maps helped identify key groups for deeper conversation regarding mobility needs.