Public Transit Scores

For people with disabilities, using public transportation often requires prior planning. This includes understanding accessibility features of transit facilities and vehicles, and ways to request rider accommodations and paratransit. Public transit websites are frequently used to get the information needed to plan a transit trip, making transit website information and accessibility key components for ensuring people with disabilities have equitable access to public transit.

The Public Transit Disability Dashboard evaluates and compares information and accessibility of public transit system websites. These data assess the information available to potential users, such as information about facility and vehicle accessibility features, policy and planning procedures, rider accommodation processes, and paratransit services. While these data do not represent individual experiences of transit users, such as real-time elevator outages, this dashboard provides insight on barriers to transit trip planning for people with disabilities.

Data on this dashboard scores information from public transit websites across six categories:

  1. Facility accessibility: average number of accessibility features of the transit facility listed on the transit website (e.g., elevators, hearing loops); maximum of 22 points
  2. Vehicle accessibility: average number of accessibility features of public transit vehicles listed on the transit website (e.g., audio announcements, securement devices); maximum of 11 points
  3. Inclusive policies: how people with disabilities were included in the public transit planning process (e.g., listing ADA coordinator, public participation opportunities); maximum of 12 points
  4. Rider accommodations: the number of modalities for submitting accommodation requests (e.g., online, telephone, TTY, etc.); maximum of 9 points
  5. Paratransit services: information about eligibility and use of paratransit services found on public transit websites (e.g., eligibility criteria, hours of operation, ride reservations); maximum of 6 points
  6. Virtual accessibility: usability of public transit website content for people with disabilities; maximum of 2 points

The Total Public Transit Score is the sum of these six total sub-category scores for each system. There is a maximum of 62 points. All scores were rounded to the nearest whole number. Once rounded, the scores were ranked from highest to lowest based on their rounded values. Higher scores indicate more accessible public transit information and more disability-inclusive transit practices.

The methodology used for this dashboard is summarized on the Public Transit Methods page, and full details the methodology are outlined in the associated manuscript. Public transit resources for people with disabilities and the source websites for these analyses are listed on the Public Transit Source Links page.

RESULTS SUMMARY

Overall accessibility and disability inclusion total scores:

  • Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority had the highest score: 40.7 out of 62 points
  • Transportation & Public Work of Miami-Dade had the lowest score: 16.3 out of 62 points

Based on the sub-category scores (Table 1):

  • Facility accessibility: 0 public transit systems scored 22 out of 22 points
  • Vehicle accessibility: 0 public transit systems scored 11 out of 11 points
  • Inclusive policies: 0 public transit systems scored 12 out of 12 points
  • Rider accommodations: 0 public transit systems scored 9 out of 9 points
  • Paratransit services: 11 public transit systems scored 6 out of 6 points
  • Virtual accessibility: 20 public transit systems scored 2 out of 2 points

There are large differences in scores across public transit system websites, indicating that the ability for people with disabilities to make plans and use public transportation may depend on where they live.

Figure 1. Public Transit System Accessibility and Disability Inclusion: Total Scores among top 26 public transit systems receiving the most federal funding

Download Table 1 Raw Data:  Excel CSV PDF

wdt_ID Public Transit System Abbreviation Total Score (62 pts max) Facility Score Rank Facility Score (22 pts max) Vehicle Score Rank Vehicle Score (11 pts max) Policy Score Rank Policy Score (12 pts max) Accommodations Score Rank Accommodations Score (9 pts max) Paratransit Score Rank Paratransit Score (6 pts max) Virtual Score Rank Virtual Score (2 pts max)
1 Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority SoundTransit 41 3 13 8 6 2 10 6 7 21 3 3 2
2 Valley Metro Rail, Inc. ValleyMetro 41 11 9 4 7 2 10 2 7 1 6 1 2
3 San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MUNI) MUNI 40 5 10 2 8 1 11 21 4 1 6 6 2
4 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority WMATA 40 4 11 2 8 8 8 10 6 1 6 18 2
5 Chicago Transit Authority CTA 39 11 9 1 8 8 8 7 6 1 6 20 2
6 San Diego Metropolitan Transit System SDMTS 37 7 10 6 7 8 8 7 6 12 5 16 2
7 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority SEPTA 36 10 9 10 6 8 8 1 8 12 5 23 1
8 Utah Transit Authority UTA 35 20 7 11 6 2 10 2 7 12 5 26 1
9 San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District BART 35 1 17 26 1 8 8 2 7 24 0 11 2
10 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Caltrain 34 7 10 13 5 8 8 11 5 12 5 5 2
11 Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board VTA 34 2 13 15 4 8 8 2 7 24 0 13 2
12 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MBTA 34 5 10 9 6 21 6 17 4 1 6 4 2
13 Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon TriMet 34 11 9 7 6 17 7 18 4 1 6 10 2
14 Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority LAMetro 32 11 9 21 3 2 10 18 4 12 5 2 2
15 New York MTA NYMTA 32 9 9 13 5 25 5 16 5 1 6 8 2
16 New Jersey Transit Corporation NJTransit 30 15 8 5 7 17 7 11 5 23 2 7 2
17 Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority MARTA 30 15 8 16 4 17 7 7 6 12 5 24 1
18 Denver Regional Transportation District RTD 30 18 7 12 5 21 6 21 4 1 6 9 2
19 The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority RTA 28 18 7 23 2 6 9 11 5 18 4 25 1
20 Dallas Area Rapid Transit DART 27 24 5 20 3 8 8 11 5 1 6 22 1
21 Maryland Transit Administration MDMTA 27 21 6 17 3 6 9 23 3 18 4 15 2
22 Minneapolis Minnesota Metro Transit MNMetroTransit 27 22 6 17 3 17 7 18 4 1 6 21 1
23 King County Department of Metro Transit KingMETRO 26 23 5 22 2 8 8 11 5 18 4 19 2
24 Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas TXMETRO 24 26 4 19 3 21 6 23 3 1 6 17 2
25 Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation METRA 21 17 8 23 2 21 6 23 3 24 0 12 2
26 Transportation & Public Work of Miami-Dade Miami-Dade 16 25 4 25 1 25 5 26 1 21 3 13 2

Citation​

Citation for this data, figures, or graphs from this dashboard: The Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center Public Transit Dashboard (https://disabilityhealth.jhu.edu/transitdashboard/).

Contact Information​

If you have questions or need the data in an alternate accessible format, you can contact us at disabilityhealth@jhu.edu.