Express Bus Crowding Metrics for New York City

Load percentages for New York City MTA express bus routes are recorded at their maximum load point, aggregated weekly. The data covers each route by direction, hour, and day type from April to September 2023. It is published by data.ny.gov, with the dataset last updated in July 2024.

Use Cases

• Analyze peak crowding hours by correlating the 'Hour' and 'Load Percentage' columns for specific 'Route' and 'Direction'.
• Compare weekday versus weekend/holiday passenger loads using the 'Day Type' and 'Load Percentage' fields.
• Identify consistently overcrowded routes by aggregating 'Load Percentage' by 'Borough' and 'Week' over the six-month period.
• Model passenger demand patterns by using 'Hour', 'Day Type', and 'Route' as features to predict the 'Load Percentage'.

Strengths

• Data provides a specific six-month time range from April 2023 to September 2023.
• Includes eight distinct columns detailing load, location, time, and route characteristics.
• Aggregated by week, allowing for trend analysis over the covered period.

Limitations

• The total number of rows and sample size for each route-week combination is unknown.
• Data is limited to a six-month snapshot and may not represent annual patterns.
• Geographic coverage is restricted to New York City express bus routes only.

Provenance

Source

data.ny.gov, likely sourced from New York City Transit (NYCT).

Collection Method

Aggregated from Automatic Passenger Counter (APC) systems on buses, as indicated by the 'Trips with APC' column.

Time Range

April 2023 to September 2023.

Freshness

Data was last updated on July 29, 2024, though the primary coverage ends in September 2023.

Geography

New York City, specifically express bus routes, with 'Borough' column for location.