Transit for All: Mapping Equitable Bike2Subway Connection using Region Representation Learning

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Namgung, Min, Lee, JangHyeon, Ding, Fangyi, Chiang, Yao-Yi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Namgung, Min
Lee, JangHyeon
Ding, Fangyi
Chiang, Yao-Yi
author_facet Namgung, Min
Lee, JangHyeon
Ding, Fangyi
Chiang, Yao-Yi
contents Ensuring equitable public transit access remains challenging, particularly in densely populated cities like New York City (NYC), where low-income and minority communities often face limited transit accessibility. Bike-sharing systems (BSS) can bridge these equity gaps by providing affordable first- and last-mile connections. However, strategically expanding BSS into underserved neighborhoods is difficult due to uncertain bike-sharing demand at newly planned ("cold-start") station locations and limitations in traditional accessibility metrics that may overlook realistic bike usage potential. We introduce Transit for All (TFA), a spatial computing framework designed to guide the equitable expansion of BSS through three components: (1) spatially-informed bike-sharing demand prediction at cold-start stations using region representation learning that integrates multimodal geospatial data, (2) comprehensive transit accessibility assessment leveraging our novel weighted Public Transport Accessibility Level (wPTAL) by combining predicted bike-sharing demand with conventional transit accessibility metrics, and (3) strategic recommendations for new bike station placements that consider potential ridership and equity enhancement. Using NYC as a case study, we identify transit accessibility gaps that disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities in historically underserved neighborhoods. Our results show that strategically placing new stations guided by wPTAL notably reduces disparities in transit access related to economic and demographic factors. From our study, we demonstrate that TFA provides practical guidance for urban planners to promote equitable transit and enhance the quality of life in underserved urban communities.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_15113
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Transit for All: Mapping Equitable Bike2Subway Connection using Region Representation Learning
Namgung, Min
Lee, JangHyeon
Ding, Fangyi
Chiang, Yao-Yi
Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Ensuring equitable public transit access remains challenging, particularly in densely populated cities like New York City (NYC), where low-income and minority communities often face limited transit accessibility. Bike-sharing systems (BSS) can bridge these equity gaps by providing affordable first- and last-mile connections. However, strategically expanding BSS into underserved neighborhoods is difficult due to uncertain bike-sharing demand at newly planned ("cold-start") station locations and limitations in traditional accessibility metrics that may overlook realistic bike usage potential. We introduce Transit for All (TFA), a spatial computing framework designed to guide the equitable expansion of BSS through three components: (1) spatially-informed bike-sharing demand prediction at cold-start stations using region representation learning that integrates multimodal geospatial data, (2) comprehensive transit accessibility assessment leveraging our novel weighted Public Transport Accessibility Level (wPTAL) by combining predicted bike-sharing demand with conventional transit accessibility metrics, and (3) strategic recommendations for new bike station placements that consider potential ridership and equity enhancement. Using NYC as a case study, we identify transit accessibility gaps that disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities in historically underserved neighborhoods. Our results show that strategically placing new stations guided by wPTAL notably reduces disparities in transit access related to economic and demographic factors. From our study, we demonstrate that TFA provides practical guidance for urban planners to promote equitable transit and enhance the quality of life in underserved urban communities.
title Transit for All: Mapping Equitable Bike2Subway Connection using Region Representation Learning
topic Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.15113