GIS BASED ANALYSIS OF EXPRESS VS
LOCAL STATIONS ON SURROUNDING LAND
USES IN NEW YORK CITY
GIS in Transit Conference, Washington D.C
Date: September 2, 2015
1
Subrina Rahman
Supervised by
Dr. Candace Brakewood
City College of New York
OUTLINE
Part 1
• Background
• Prior Research
• Objectives and Hypotheses
Part 2
• Methodology
• Data Analysis
Part 3
• Conclusion
• Future Research
2
Part 1
•BACKGROUND
•PRIOR RESEARCH
•OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESES
3
BACKGROUND



New York City
(NYC) Subway is the
largest rapid transit
system in the United
States
Express services
make fewer stops
mainly at major
stations by skipping
some minor stations
and cover longer
distance within a
short period
local services stop at
every single station
4
Source: mta.info
BACKGROUND (CONT.)
NYC subway
provides both
express and local
services
 Some subway lines
have both services
 Moat of the transit
service arrangement
were determined in
the middle of
twentieth century.

Source: queens.brownstoner.com
5
PRIOR RESEARCH


Transportation systems and land use are interrelated
Numerous of studies defined the relationship between land use
and transit ridership (Banerjee, Myers, and Irazabal, 2005; Brown, 2012;
Zhuang, 2014 and others)


The most relevant research conducted in New York, which
described the co-developed relationship between subway
stations and residential and commercial land use. The result of
the study revealed that the subway network was a leading
factor of commercial growth (David, 2011)
However, none of the research compares the relationship of
express vs. local transit services on surrounding land use.
6
Objectives
OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESES
• Compare the land uses in the catchment
area surrounding express stations and local
stations
• Evaluate for a single subway line (“A”
train)
Hypotheses
Residential land use is higher near express stations than local stations
Commercial activity is higher near express stations than local stations
Population density is higher near express stations than local stations
Subway ridership is higher in express stations than local stations
7
Part 2
•METHODOLOGY
•DATA ANALYSIS
8
METHODOLOGY
Background on “A” train
The A train serves both express and local services, as well as covers
31 miles from Inwood in Manhattan to Far Rockway in Queens
Catchment Area of Each Station
Based on 𝑇𝐶𝑄𝑆𝑀 𝑖 , half a mile catchment area is considered for each
station containing the surrounding land use data
Compare Express Stations with Local Stations
Three dimensions -land use, population densities, and subway
ridership within half a mile catchment areas are calculated for each
station
i. Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual, 3rd Edition. TCQSM Chapter 5, Quality of Service Method. PP 5-11.
9
METHODOLOGY (CONT.)
Description of the data used for analysis
Data
Time
Source
New York City Land Use Shapefiles
Map
2014
Department of City
Planning, NYC
Subway Stations
Borough Boundaries
Shapefiles
Shapefiles
2014
2014
NYC Open Data
Department of City
Planning, NYC
by Excel file
2012
Department of City
Planning, NYC
Excel file
2013
mta.info
Population
Density
Census Tracts, 2010
Subway Ridership Data
Format
10
ANALYSIS
Stations Distribution of the A train


The A train has 66 stations in total
Among them 18 stations have both local and express service and
remaining 48 stations serve as local station

11 out of 18 express stations are in Manhattan

There is no express station in Queens, all are local stations
No. of Station
Station Distribution
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
29
17
10
7
20
18
20
Local
11
Express
0
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Total
Queens
Borough
Data source: Borough Boundary, Department of City Planning, NYC and Subway Stations, NYC OpenData
11
ANALYSIS (CONT.)
Land Use Categories




Residential land use is prominent for the catchment of both express
(37.89%) and local (42.79%) stations
Percent of one and two family building is higher near local stations
Commercial activity near express station shares 14.3% which is more
than double (5.9%) compared to local stations
Similarly , mixed land use also share high percentage near express
stations compared to local stations
Land Use Categories Express Stations
2%
5%
3%
14%
3%
11%
14%
10%
13%
12%
13%
Land Use Categories Local Stations
Commercial & Office Buildings
6%
Industrial & Manufacturing
9%
Mixed Residential & Commercial Buildings
Multi-Family Elevator Buildings
2%
Multi-Family Walk-Up Buildings
One & Two Family Building
Open Space & Outdoor Recreation
19%
Parking Facilities
Public Facilities & Institutions
Transportation & Utility
Vacant Land
5% 6%
2%
8%
10%
12%
12
21%
Data source: New York City Land Use Data, 2014; Department of City Planning, NYC
ANALYSIS
CONT.)
of the A (
train
13
Data source: Land Use Data, 2014; Department of City Planning, NYC
ANALYSIS (CONT.)
Land Use Categories (cont.)

Brooklyn and Queens boroughs are residential land dominant. About 60% of
land is shared by residential buildings around local stations in these two
boroughs.
In Manhattan, commercial and mixed land uses share a significant amount
of lands. Commercial activity near express stations is more than double
compared to local stations
Share of Land Use Types
70
60
50
Percent

Bronx
40
Brooklyn
30
Manhattan
20
Queens
10
Total
0
Express
Local
Residential (%)
Express
Local
Commercial (%)
Express
Local
Mixed Residential & commercial
(%)
Source: Land Use Data, 2014; Department of City Planning, NYC
14
ANALYSIS (CONT.)
Population Density



The average population density of the New York Metropolitan area is
42.2𝑖𝑖 persons per acre
Density is more than double (92.3 persons per acre)𝑖𝑖𝑖 in station
catchment areas
Local stations (92.7 persons per acre) catchment areas have the higher
density compared to express stations (78.5 persons per acre)
Population Density
Density per Acre
140
120
100
80
Local
60
Express
40
Total
20
0
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Queens
Borough
Data source: New York City Census Tract, 2010, Department of City Planning, NYC
ii. United States Census Bureau. New York (City), New York. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/3651000.html
iii. Data source: New York City Census Tract, 2010, Department of City Planning, NYC
15
ANALYSIS (CONT.)
Population Density (cont.)

Population density is lowest near local stationsPopulation
in south-eastDensity
side of Queens
(cont.)

Middle to upper
Manhattan has the higher
population density
compared to the CBD and
other areas
16
Data source: New York City Census Tract, 2010, Department of City Planning, NYC
ANALYSIS (CONT.)
Annual Ridership Data according to their Rank within Overall Subway Stations
No
Stations
60,604,822
24,751,771
21,300,892
17,971,983
15,458,781
12,415,290
12,506,322
11,149,629
8,173,608
7,500,154
6,948,193
5,646,937
5,139,201
4,437,282
4,029,936
3,100,867
3,245,786
2,968,639
2,810,713
62,069,437
24,851,746
21,599,586
17,868,334
15,364,366
13,044,037
12,727,443
11,492,780
8,427,453
7,503,282
7,048,936
5,612,068
5,283,444
4,530,536
4,028,015
3,115,445
3,242,555
2,990,881
2,862,830
63,617,614
25,726,374
22,774,421
18,721,694
15,641,210
13,903,211
13,533,369
11,793,956
8,932,680
7,884,456
7,432,177
5,922,371
5,510,841
4,726,582
4,154,792
3,323,235
3,309,493
2,971,379
2,948,156
2012-13
change
+2.6%
+3.5%
+5.5%
+4.7%
+1.8%
+6.9%
+6.4%
+2.7%
+6.2%
+5.1%
+5.5%
+5.5%
+4.4%
+4.4%
+3.1%
+6.7%
+2.1%
-0.7%
+3.0%
Inwood-207 St
High St
3,079,573
2,093,306
2,795,992
2,209,212
2,897,438
2,441,136
Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd
Dyckman St
Howard Beach-JFK Airport
Aqueduct-North Conduit Av
Beach 36 st
Beach 98 st
Beach 44 st
Beach 105 st
Broad Channel
2,286,542
2,326,780
928,529
474,915
192,676
198,503
225,250
80,580
88,837
2,246,624
2,344,316
1,074,516
890,505
217,880
193,332
161,946
82,088
75,969
2,262,961
2,112,706
1,626,984
698,115
143,400
100,594
91,331
48,916
36,849
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Times Sq-42 St /42 St
34 St-Penn Station
59 St-Columbus Circle
Fulton St
Chambers St
14 St
West 4 St-Washington Sq
Jay St-MetroTech
125 St
168 St
145 St
Canal St
Nostrand Av
Utica Av
175 St
Euclid Av
181 St
Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts
Broadway Junction
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
2011
Source: Annual Subway Ridership (mta.info)
2012
2013
2013
Ranking
1
6
7
12
16
19
20
26
37
46
53
73
79
101
117
151
152
166
169
Station
Type
Express
Express
Express
Express
Express
Express
Express
Express
Express
Express
Express
Express
Express
Express
Local
Express
Local
Express
Express
+3.3%
+11.1%
174
194
Local
Express
+0.7%
-10.0%
+59.5%
-40.5%
-38.7%
-46.7%
-31.3%
-41.2%
-44.0%
210
224
283
392
415
417
418
419
420
Local
Local
Local
Local
Local
Local
Local
Local
Local
17
Part 3
•CONCLUSION
•FUTURE RESEARCH
18
CONCLUSION
Parameters
Hypotheses
Outcomes
Residential
Buildings
Express Station >
Local Station
Local Station>
Express Station
Commercial
Buildings
Express Station >
Local Station
Express Station
> Local Station
Density (Persons Express Station >
per acre)
Local Station
Local Station>
Express Station
Annual Subway
Ridership
Express Station
> Local Station
Express Station >
Local Station
Findings
X
X
19
FUTURE RESEARCH
Only three dimensions are considered. In future,
other dimensions like-residential building price,
economic activity, income of household, and auto
ownership could be included
 Statistical tests could be conducted to understand
the strength of the relationship between local and
express stations land uses
 Understanding the variation of land use pattern
in catchment areas would greatly enhance the
ability to provide efficient and effective transit
services

20
REFERENCES





Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual, 3rd
Edition. TCQSM Chapter 5, Quality of Service
Method. PP 5-11.
New York City Subway Lines and Routes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Subway#
Trunk_lines
United States Census Bureau. New York (City), New
York.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/3651000.ht
ml
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
Annual Subway Ridership, 2010-2013,
http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_sub
_annual.htm
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
Subway Station Services,
http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/aline.htm
21
QUESTIONS
OR
COMMENTS
?
22