Assessment of Transit Accessibility from Sheltered TARC Stops: A Spatial Investigation of TARC Bus Services and their Reachability to Essential Service Nodes

Cities are hubs for a plethora of social and economic activities within the urbanscape, with their services becoming more intricate as they grow. Transportation plays a critical role in ensuring connectivity and easy accessibility between origins and destinations in cities. Consequently, the study investigated the accessibility of TARC (Transit Authority of River City) buses from sheltered TARC stops in Louisville Metropolis to essential urban service nodes, specifically healthcare and educational facilities. In the study, two geospatial methods of analysis were used; buffers analysis set at distances corresponding to walking distances of ¼, ½, ¾, and 1 mile respectively. Secondly, the near analysis for comprehensive point-to-point, point-to-line, and point-to-polygon measurement. Results revealed that educational facilities, although clustered in the northern part of the metropolis generally lacked accessibility within a ¼ mile (5-minute walking distance) from sheltered TARC stops, while some are reachable within a 15-minute walk. Schools in the eastern part of the metropolis were bereft of TARC services, reflecting the area's car-oriented nature and complete reliance on school buses. Healthcare facilities, despite being densely clustered, required longer walks of around 1 mile (20 minutes) from sheltered TARC stops, particularly in dispersed western and eastern locations. These findings underscore the expediency of equitable, and integrative public transit facility planning that promotes a sustainable transit-oriented system, that can better serve the metropolis.