Tool tests realistic changes to local transit networks

Have you ever wanted to change your city’s public transit system? A new digital tool developed by an MIT team lets people design alterations to transit networks and estimate the resulting improvements, based on existing data from urban transit systems. The team, led by Christopher Zegras, a professor in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, has already tested the tool with residents in four major U.S. cities—Atlanta, Boston, New Orleans, and San Francisco—as well as in London and Santiago de Chile, and is now planning additional projects in Chile, Colombia, and South Africa. Now the researchers have released a report evaluating how the tool, called CoAXs, has fared during these tests. Zegras spoke to MIT News about the project.