The distance to high-capacity transit (HCT) stations and stops shows how accessible these modes of transportation – all rail services, bus rapid transit, ferries – are to people in the region. Differences between communities can highlight who has better, or worse, access to HCT.
For this indicator, HCT access is measured for each census tract in the region, using data from PSRC’s parcel-based land use and travel models, as well as GTFS data provided by regional transit operators. It is calculated as the average distance in miles to the nearest HCT stop for people in a census tract, weighted by the distribution of the tract’s population. Weighting better accounts for instances where population isn’t spread evenly across a tract. The measure indicates the distance to the nearest HCT station for an average household within a tract.
Go to: High-Capacity Transit Map | High-Capacity Transit Now | High-Capacity Transit Trend
High-Capacity Transit Map
Distance in miles to high-capacity transit stations
Source(s): General Transit Feed Specification, 2021; U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division 2020 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
Insights & Analysis
- King County has the lowest average distance to HCT (2.5 miles), followed by Kitsap (4.3 miles), Pierce (4.4 miles), and Snohomish (4.6 miles).
- Of the ten census tracts with the farthest average distance to HCT (all of which are over 18 miles), five are in Snohomish County, four are in King, and one is in Pierce.
- There are 283 tracts in the region with an average distance to HCT of less than one mile: 71% of those are in King County, 19% are in Snohomish, 7% are in Pierce, and 2% are in Kitsap.
High-Capacity Transit Now
Source(s): General Transit Feed Specification, 2021; U.S. Census Bureau, 2017-2021 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B02001, C17002, B22010, B11005, B11007, C16002
Note 1: Horizontal axis (low, medium, high) denotes concentrations of each community. See, "How is equity measured?" for more information.
Note 2: For Households with Limited English Proficiency, the low and low medium categories have the same value in Kitsap and Pierce counties. There are more census tracts in those places estimated to have 0 households with limited English proficiency than the number of tracts in the low quintile category. The values for the low and low medium categories were averaged.
Insights & Analysis
- The difference in average distance to HCT between communities with high and low concentrations of households with older adults is greatest in Kitsap County (2.3 miles), followed by Pierce (1.7 miles), Snohomish (1.6 miles), and King (1.2 miles).
- For communities with high concentrations of people with disabilities, the average distance to HCT is farthest in Snohomish County (8.1 miles), followed by Pierce (5.2 miles), Kitsap (5 miles), and King (4.1 miles).
- Communities with high concentrations of households with youth are farthest from HCT in Snohomish County (8 miles) and closest to HCT in Pierce County (5.5 miles).
- The average distance to HCT for communities in the region with high concentrations of households with older adults is 5.8 miles, compared to 4.1 miles for communities with low concentrations of households with older adults.
- The average distance to HCT for communities in the region with high concentrations of people with disabilities is 5 miles.
- Communities in the region with high concentrations of households with youth are 3.8 miles farther from HCT than those with low concentrations of households with youth.
High-Capacity Transit Trend
Source(s): General Transit Feed Specification, 2021; U.S. Census Bureau, 2012-2016, 2017-2021 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B02001, C17002, B22010, B11005, B11007, C16002
Note 1: Line categories (low, low-medium, etc.) denote concentrations of each community. See, "How is equity measured?" for more information.
Note 2: For Households with Limited English Proficiency, the low and low medium categories have the same value in Kitsap and Pierce counties. There are more census tracts in those places estimated to have 0 households with limited English proficiency than the number of tracts in the low quintile category. The values for the low and low medium categories were averaged.
Insights & Analysis
- From 2016 to 2021, communities with high concentrations of households with older adults saw their average distance to HCT increase in Snohomish County (+2.4 miles), decrease in Kitsap (-2.0 miles) and Pierce (-0.7 miles), and remain the same in King.
- Communities with high concentrations of people with disabilities saw a decrease in average distance to HCT only in Snohomish County; those in King, Kitsap, and Pierce saw increases.
- Communities in Pierce County with high concentrations of households with youth experienced no change in average distance to HCT from 2016 to 2021.
- The increase in the average distance to HCT for communities in the region with high concentrations of households with older adults was 0.4 miles from 2016 (5.4 miles) to 2021 (5.8 miles).
- The decrease in the average distance to HCT for communities in the region with high concentrations of people with disabilities was 0.2 miles from 2016 (5.2 miles) to 2021 (5.0 miles).
- The difference in the average distance to HCT between communities in the region with high and low concentrations of households with youth in 2021 was 3.8 miles, an increase of 0.7 miles since 2016.