Using survey responses from LA Metro non-riders, past riders, and infrequent riders, I used R (for the first time!) to identify major barriers to choosing transit. The following bar chart identifies the most common key words that survey responders used in their answers. Certain words, such as articles and transit vehicle types, were excluded from the codes.
Indicated with orange arrows, certain key words (and a few assumptions) stitch together what is likely a shared story. These key words include:
-work
-parking
-drive
-long
-late
Potential riders would consider, or have considered, taking transit to work, but they ultimately choose to drive. Transit may take too long, be late, take an indirect route for them, or simply be inconvenient. Parking is a persistent comment, likely indicating insufficient park-and-ride supply. Other revealing words that fewer respondents use include "dirty" and "homeless", indicating sticking points in potential riders' experiences and perceptions of transit.
More respondents' words are displayed in a word cloud below.
