We have worked on this dataset since 2015. This is the most extensive large-N dataset about transit finance and services in the whole world. It is a longitudinal panel data, which includes more than 470 Urbanized Areas (UZA) and covers annual observations during 2007-2015. The data include several dozen variables including transit revenues (federal, state and local), transit expenditure (by transit modes, and by types of expenditure), and transit services (ridership, etc.) The authors continue to expand the data to include more recent years, and to augment the data by linking them to socioeconomic variables at the metropolitan level.

Key Highlights

• 1. Operating and capital expenses: Available for different transit modes (categorized as rail and non-rail transit modes)

• 2. Service data: Available for different transit modes (categorized as rail and non-rail transit modes). Includes vehicle revenue miles, vehicle revenue hours, passenger miles, and ridership.

• 3. Urban Compactness: Urban compactness is the opposite of urban sprawl. The measure D is developed from the fractal dimension index based on the area and perimeter of an UZA.

Uses and Visualizations

Annual Operating Expenses by UZA

Citation

Publications

• Zhao, J. Z., Lou, S., Fonseca, C., Feiock, R., & Shen, R. (2020). Explaining transit expenses in US urbanised areas: Urban scale, spatial form and fiscal capacity. Urban Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019892582

Authors

In order to access the data, contact these authors.

• Jerry Zhirong Zhao: zrzhao@umn.edu

• Camila Fonseca: fonse024@umn.edu