Anybody who has waited for a bus in the early morning hours of January or in a late summer thunder storm appreciates the importance of a shelter at a bus stop.
In one of the most fascinating public health studies that I have encountered recently, Wayne State University Honors Student Sarosh Irani studied the distribution of bus shelters in Detroit.
Motivated by an observation while riding the city bus, he noticed that a very crowded bus stop had no shelter, while a stop with only 5 riders did have a shelter.
Ever the researcher, Irani developed a study.
Analyzing the department of transportation database and through tracking the number of daily riders over a 500 day period, he found that this was a common occurrence due to uneven declines in Detroit’s population.
Rather than proposing to build new shelters, he simply suggested moving around the existing shelters to reflect the current usage. His solution would result in an astounding eight hundred percent increase.
This undergrad Public Health Honors Student presented his research at the 2019 National Planning conference.
Not content to simply research, Irani is also advocated for city and regional governments to tackle the transportation needs of its residents stating that for every tax dollar invested in public transportation there is a four dollar return on investment.
For the individuals who rely on the bus system for work, school, medical appointments, grocery shopping, his work will have an incredible impact and could mean the difference between an elderly resident keeping that doctor’s appointment on a frigid morning or not.
For the article from Wayne State University, please click here.
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