What Can We Learn from On-Demand Transit Services for Ridership? A Case Study at the City of Regina, Canada

The urgent need to optimize operational efficiency, boost ridership, enlarge effective communication technologies, and improve customer convenience has led to the emergence of on-demand transit (ODT) services. ODT can be advantageous in several ways, including reliability, improving mobility, cost-effectiveness, and reducing the need for multi-transit services. This paper analyzed the trip patterns of on-demand services and the impacts on ridership by the difference-in-difference method. The pattern analyses showed that the origin–destination flow patterns are concentrated in large commercial and dense residential areas with significantly reduced travel times including the waiting times and in-vehicle times. Furthermore, the difference-in-difference model analyses yielded positive relations between the ridership and the on-demand transit services for the overall transit network while the effects vary with specific landuse zones. Results indicated the potential of on-demand transit services to benefit passengers and ridership recovery during the pandemic and post-pandemic.