What Cities Have the Most People Living Near Rapid Transit?

What people want in their commute is straightforward: A consistent, affordable way into the city for work and enjoyment. But getting a city to the point where it can offer these things can be much more complex. To truly serve the most people possible, transit systems must maximize usefulness within city limits while expanding service outside the urban core.

Though ridership numbers and station maps give policymakers a sense of how well their systems are performing, these metrics sometimes miss a major element of successful public transportation systems: How many people are near transit in the first place.

That’s the metric at the heart of a new study from the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy. The study measures how many people live within walking distance (1 km) of high-quality rapid transit, either light rail or bus transit, in 26 cities and metros around the world.

The study applies bus rapid transit standards of quality (grade-separated rail, offboard fare purchases, cars that prioritize capacity) and quantity (regular station spacing and frequent service) to assess the reach of transit systems in cities in industrialized and developing countries.

Using these benchmarks, the study compared rapid transit sheds in cities to density maps of metropolitan areas to determine how many people have access to speedy public transportation.