Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Studies & Reports

Where Are the Gaps in Your Transit System?

The red areas mark parts of Miami where transit demand is high but service is underwhelming. Map: Center for Neighborhood Technology

Where should your city aim to add transit service? The places where more buses and trains will be most useful are areas where lots of people live or work, but there's not enough service to meet the demand.

A new data tool from the Center for Neighborhood Technology helps pinpoint these locations in cities around the U.S. The "Gap Finder" -- an extension of CNT's All Transit database -- overlays demographic data and transit schedule information on maps that highlight where more people would ride transit if service levels were higher.

The transit gaps mapped by CNT are not to be confused with "transit deserts" -- areas with no transit at all. Areas with some transit service may still not have nearly enough to adequately serve the people who live or work there, while areas without any service may be so spread out that fixed-route transit won't do much good.

"The goal is to understand where transit need is being met" and where it's not, said Zak Accuardi of TransitCenter, which funded CNT's work.

These gaps in service are highlighted in red on CNT's map, and areas where transit service is aligned with current demand are in blue. Other areas are too suburban or rural for fixed-route transit services to work well.

Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles

Some transit gaps reflect the high concentration of people and jobs in relation to transit service levels. That's the case in Hoboken and Jersey City, the cities directly across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan.

"These are neighborhoods that are super dense," said Accuardi. "It’s basically like brownstones. There’s also a lot of jobs in both Hoboken and Jersey City. The volume of transit service that folks there have access to is pretty good compared to the rest of the country. There’s a lot of bus routes operated largely by New Jersey Transit there. For most people in those areas, it’s still really not enough."

jersey city

CNT quantifies the share of each city's population living in neighborhoods without adequate transit service. About 42 percent of Miami residents live in areas that qualify as transit gaps, for instance, while in Houston the figure is 55 percent:

houston

The transit gap tool is intended to help local advocates and policy makers think through how they want to improve service. Red areas on the maps should stand out as candidates for increasing the frequency of train and bus service.

For a few reasons, though, the maps shouldn't be viewed as the last word in assessing transit needs, Accuardi says.

The transit data the maps are based on comes from posted schedules, not real time data. So routes where agencies run a lot of buses but service is slow or unreliable because of traffic congestion won't get flagged, for instance. Nor do the maps account for barriers to walkability like highways that may make dense areas appear more well-suited for transit than they really are.

"The tool helps to identify areas that are of interest," said Accuardi. If you want to know where adding bus or train service will help the most people, mapping the transit gaps is an excellent starting point.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: The Pacific Circuit

Alexis Madrigal connects containerization to globalization and its direct impacts on one Oakland neighborhood.

April 17, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Wonder Why

Why are drivers killing so many pedestrians? Governing magazine has a number of familiar theories.

April 17, 2025

Is Private Capital Up to a Texas-Sized High Speed Rail Challenge Now That the Feds Have Pulled Out?

"We hope that Duffy’s announcement isn’t an ideologically driven decision to turn [Texas' critical high-speed rail project] over to the 'free market' and a prayer."

April 16, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Flash Their High Beams

Yes, headlights are getting brighter, and while it might help drivers see, for everyone else the glare can be blinding and dangerous.

April 16, 2025

Map Quest: Meet NYC’s Most Dangerous Drivers

A map of the city's most reckless drivers shows how prolific the problem of super-scofflaws is in the five boroughs.

April 16, 2025
See all posts