The University’s Accessibility Observatory is evaluating transportation destinations, such as jobs, schools and hospitals in the state in order to measure accessibility.

The data could shape how entities like the Minnesota Department of Transportation plan future transit projects.

Andrew Owen, lead researcher and director of the observatory in the University’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineering, said the research identifies where jobs are concentrated.

“Focusing on accessibility gives a way to look at how well we are achieving the goals of transportation systems,” he said.

The program uses bus, rail, car and pedestrian travel times combined with census data to measure the number of jobs that can be reached within 30 minutes of a person’s home, Owen said. The data can be adjusted to give information about any type of destination from anywhere in the state.

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David Levinson, a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineering, said this information can also explain why people choose a certain mode of transportation.

“In places with higher transit accessibility, people are more likely to use [public] transit,” he said.

Levinson said the research also focuses on how frequently public transportation is available at a certain location.

“Transit accessibility varies by time of day,” Levinson said. “If the bus just left and won’t be back for another 30 minutes, you can’t reach very many places.”

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