The Challenge

Within San Juan, there are around 30 bus lines operated by several transit agencies, with First Transit operating seven lines. First Transit was interested in taking over inefficient bus lines, adding service to their current lines as demand required, and potentially creating new lines where needed. Historically, there has been a major lack of reliable transit and survey data in San Juan, so for First Transit to succeed, they required a full understanding of their current ridership and the overall system in order to impress upon the transit authorities their depth of knowledge of the system. 

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The Solution

First Transit turned to Moovit’s Urban Mobility Analytics (MUMA) to gain analytical insights on the various bus lines. By leveraging MUMA Transit Line reports, First Transit could easily understand and visualize ridership patterns and rider behaviors, receiving an in-depth analysis of ridership throughout the city’s bus system. The Line report includes data on:

• Granular Origin-Destination data on where riders begin and end their complete journey, including:
  • Total number of riders
  • Mode split between public transit and private cars
  •  Number of transit transfers and first-/last-mile distances on transit
  • Distribution of travel duration per travel mode (public transit vs. private car)
  • Identification of peak hours 
• Average number of riders at each stop according to time of day
• Identification of first-/last-mile barriers to ridership

In addition to the Line reports, Moovit offered efficiency recommendations where First Transit could optimize their existing services and produced a Gap Analysis report. The Gap Analysis identified areas where specific lines were lacking service,  forcing would-be transit riders to use other forms of transportation, as well as where express lines, shuttle routes, or new routes would better serve the citizens of San Juan. 

One of the gaps discovered was that many passengers riding to the final stop of San Juan Metro – Sagrado Corazon – required another bus ride to get to their final destination. However, the bus service ended hours before the last train arrived, forcing later passengers to take taxis or other forms of transit to make their last-mile journey. Moovit’s data enabled First Transit to understand which bus line schedules should be extended to better serve riders. In addition, First Transit also gained data on circuitous routes that would better serve riders with a more directional line.  

Reasons for Choosing Moovit Urban Mobility Analytics:

• Line and station reports offering unique capabilities 
• Quick turnaround with in-depth reporting
• Superior origin-destination analysis
• Powerful, effective efficiency recommendations

About First Transit

First Transit, Inc. supplies precision, efficiency, innovation, and all-around expertise to both public and private transportation systems. For over 60 years, First Transit has hands-on experience with every facet of transportation operations, maintenance, and administration. As the nation’s leading provider of public transportation contracting and management services, we know transit.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, First Transit operates in 335 locations, carrying more than 350 million passengers annually throughout the United States in 39 states, Puerto Rico and Canada.

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