Project Type

Article

Project or Course Name

MATH 219: Solving Industrial Problems

Publication Date

Spring 5-1-2019

Description

Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way (GSVUW) aims to propose a fixed-route bus system across a mostly rural five-county region (Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union counties) in Central Pennsylvania to be operated by River Valley Transit (RVT). Regional needs assessments demonstrate a critical lack of public transit, the implementation of which can increase access to medical care and facilitate workforce development. With input from GSVUW and other stakeholders, this paper aims to provide data-informed recommendations for a bus route, bus stops, and time tables that optimize potential ridership and accessibility. Data from the American Community Survey, a United States Census household survey, and from Rabbit Transit, a local ride request service, are employed to quantify and visualize the distribution of potential demand for public transit within the region. Recommendations produced by such analyses will be used by GSVUW to apply for a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation feasibility grant to pilot the fixed-route bus system.

This project was completed in a Solving Industrial Problems course at Bucknell University in conjunction with the PIC Math program. PIC Math is a program of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). Support is provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF grant DMS-1722275). Work was done in collaboration with GSVUW, RVT, and SEDA-COG under the supervision of Professor Nathan Ryan and GIS Specialist Janine Glathar.

Department

Mathematics

Field Station

Coal Region Field Station

Location

Columbia County, Montour County, Northumberland County, Snyder County, Union County

Rights

©2019, Covert, Feit, Fournier, and Koumas. Distributed with permission.

Language

eng

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