Pedestrian Access to Transit: Model of Walk Trips and Their Design and Urban Form Determinants Around Bay Area Rapid Transit Stations

Abstract

Walking links practically every trip taken, yet it has not been maximized as a primary mode of transportation, and the characteristics of walk trips are little understood. The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system has been used for primary analysis of characteristics of pedestrian access to transit. A travel survey of individual riders was used to develop a disaggregate discrete choice logit model of walk access to BART stations. Characteristics with the highest probability of choosing walking over another mode are distance, availability of a car, and gender. Linear regression analysis of aggregate station area characteristics was developed; density, the number of parking spaces at the station, and income and education of the residents were identified as key factors in the decision to walk. When the logit and regression models were combined into a single model, there was a clear shift toward individual characteristics over aggregate station area characteristics that determines access-mode choice. Among physical characteristics, station areas with high levels of retail activity outside downtown areas contain the highest proportion of walk trips, followed by station areas with little or no parking.