# Population and Transit Mapping
Date: 2023-04-01

When designing a public transport system we have a number of goals. We
want to (equitably) provide as many people as possible with a basic
level of service. But in order to move the greatest number of people
(e.g. to substitute for as many car trips as possible) we want a network
design and resource that focuses service on a frequent grid-like
pattern.

A journey on transit typically has several travel-time components:

- walking time to and from each stop
- waiting time for each service to arrive
- in-vehicle travel time
- waiting time at destination due to limited frequency

Since schedule coordination for transfers is difficult and all but the
most common journeys tend to require a transfer, frequency of service is
particularly critical toward getting people where they need to go in a
timely manner.

Public transport usage tends to follow a logistic curve with respect to
density: at low densities (car oriented development), usage increases
gradually with population, then at moderate-to-high density much faster,
then at very high densities usage levels off (perhaps because most
additional trips are now walkable).

So it’s useful to consider the [core PT
network](https://humantransit.org/basics/the-case-for-frequency-mapping)
overlaid on a population-density map - not just to show where the
service is, but to show where it isn’t.

Maps of the Brisbane City Council wards showing 2021 population density
by SA1, overlaid with BUZ, train and ferry locales, are available below.

[All Wards (low resolution,
13MB)](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/All-wards-low-res.pdf)

Individual Wards (higher resolution, about 3MB each):

[Bracken
Ridge](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/BRACKEN-RIDGE.pdf)  
[Calamvale](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/CALAMVALE.pdf)  
[Central](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/CENTRAL.pdf)  
[Chandler](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/CHANDLER.pdf)  
[Coorparoo](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/COORPAROO.pdf)  
[Deagon (mainland
only)](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/DEAGON-mainland.pdf)  
[Doboy](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/DOBOY.pdf)  
[Enoggera](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/ENOGGERA.pdf)  
[Forest
Lake](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/FOREST-LAKE.pdf)  
[Hamilton](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/HAMILTON.pdf)  
[Holland
Park](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/HOLLAND-PARK.pdf)  
[Jamboree](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/JAMBOREE.pdf)  
[MacGregor](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/MACGREGOR.pdf)  
[Marchant](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/MARCHANT.pdf)  
[McDowall](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/MCDOWALL.pdf)  
[Moorooka](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/MOOROOKA.pdf)  
[Morningside](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/MORNINGSIDE.pdf)  
[Northgate](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/NORTHGATE.pdf)  
[Paddington](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/PADDINGTON.pdf)  
[Pullenvale
(part)](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/PULLENVALE-trim.pdf)  
[Runcorn](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/RUNCORN.pdf)  
[Tennyson](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/TENNYSON.pdf)  
[The
Gabba](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/THE-GABBA.pdf)  
[The
Gap](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/THE-GAP.pdf)  
[Walter
Taylor](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/WALTER-TAYLOR.pdf)  
[Wynnum-Manly](https://f.abjago.net/transit-and-population-density/WYNNUM-MANLY.pdf)

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Update (2024-07-10): in a similar vein, see this article in *The
Guardian* this week.

{% include preview.html
url=“https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jul/08/half-of-australians-in-the-five-largest-cities-live-too-far-from-public-transport-to-ditch-cars”
%}