GIS Transit Applications in Fairfax County, VA

1. GIS Transit Applications in Fairfax County, VA Brendan Ford Department of Information Technology (GIS) Wendy Jia Department of Transportation June, 1999

2. Fairfax County DOT Highway Operations Transit Operations Transportation Planning Planning Marketing Operations • Fairfax County DOT - Organization

3. GIS and Transportation • County • Attorney • Police • DOT • Fire & • Rescue • DPW&ES • GIS • DPZ • DTA • Human • Services • County • Exec. • CSB • Health

4. Fairfax County Transit System • FAIRFAX CONNECTOR bus system. • 54 static bus routes • xxx bus stops • Other bus systems also serve Fairfax County

5. Transit Pilot Project • Three FAIRFAX CONNECTOR routes: 103, 105, and 108 • Routes are complex • Have overlap

6. Transit Pilot Project - Objectives • Demonstrate GIS potential in transit planning, operations, and marketing • Effectively model Fairfax Connector bus routes and bus stops using GIS. • Develop custom desktop applications for planners • Integrate existing the transit data sources with GIS database

7. Transit Pilot Project - Data Existing Data Sources: • Street Centerline Network • Stop Database (Paradox) • Boarding and Alighting Data • Ridership Data • Census Block Groups • Planimetric Data • Public Facilities • Digital Ortho Photography Pilot Data: • Created bus route layer created using Dynamic Segmentation • Geocoded Bus stops using ArcView • Collected stop locations using GPS. • Related stops to routes using ADDROUTEMEASURE

8. Transit Pilot Project - Software • ARC INFO Create bus routes using Dynamic Segmentation • ARCVIEW Develop desktop applications • Map Objects Design Internet information query tools

9. Pilot Project - Bus Route Creation • Created in Arc/Info • Used MAKEROUTE, SUBSELECT, APPEND, REMEASURE, etc. • Time consuming and difficult for routes with loops. • Errors difficult to fix without rebuilding route • Results were excellent

10. Transit Pilot Project - Applications Planning Marketing Operations - Transit Shed Analysis - Route Performance Comparison - Optimal Bus Routes - Mapping Bus Routes - Internet Data Viewing - Internet Bus Trip Planning - Map Origins of “Park & Ride” - Boarding and Alighting Activity Analysis - Determine Route Miles - Measure Distance between Stops

11. Transit Pilot Project - Planning Types of Applications: • Analyze land use and demographic features within the service area • Compare route performance • Determine optimal bus routes

12. Transit Planning - ArcView

13. Transit Pilot Project - Planning

14. Transit Pilot Project - Planning Benefits: • User friendly tools for planning tasks • Scenario analysis for new service design, routing adjustment, etc • Baseline study of the service area • Easily applicable for traffic & planning studies • Power

15. Transit Pilot Project - Marketing Types of Applications: • Mapping bus routes • Internet data query • Internet bus trip planning • Efficiently collect & store bus stop information

16. Geocoded by Intersection, not the actual stop location. East and westbound stops in same spot. Westbound Stop (GPS) Eastbound Stop (GPS) Stops not in intersections database, located with GPS

17. Transit Pilot Project - Marketing Benefits: • Reduce the number of phone calls to the information center • Efficient / accurate field data collection and maintenance • Reduce staff time for mapping applications

18. Transit Pilot Project - System Implementation and Future Plans • Develop all bus routes using PATH command in Arc/Info • Collect bus stops using GPS • Refine developed applications • Identify new applications • Transfer maintenance responsibility to each section in DOT • Develop Internet/Intranet Applications with Arc/IMS

19. Speaker - Immediate Plans • Be on the first tee of the USF golf course by 5:30 pm today.