EQUITY OF TRANSIT NEED IN BAGHDAD CITY

Abstract

Public transportation plays a significant role in urban areas, transporting a large percentage of people. There is no existing study dealing with the balance between transportation demand and supply in Baghdad city; thus, there is a need to assess service equity before implementing any major services. The aim of the present research is to study the equity of transit need. The methodology uses geographic information systems (GISs) and spatial multi-criteria analysis to determine equity. Nine criteria were used in this study (land use, population density, commercial activities, medical locations, bus stops walkability, educational activities, bus terminal, and income) to determine a transit need map. Expert opinion surveys are conducted to determine pairwise comparisons between these criteria to estimate the weight of each criterion. Spatial analysis in ArcGIS 10.8 is utilized to apply methodology. The transit need map is obtained, and the need for transit service is represented by a value for each cell. In addition, the map output is important to public transit planning, as it maximizes the optimal transit route selection depending on the transit need. The output of this study (a transit need map) represents a powerful tool for the decision-makers to prioritize transportation programs and ranking alternatives. Gap analysis is used to measure equity between various zones. The results show that the transit supply provides higher service coverages in the Central Business District (CBD) and decreases as the distance to CBD increases.