Developing a Model for Bicycle Ridership

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) provides for the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible movement of people and goods in NYC. DOT is the agency tasked with controlling NYC streets and developing infrastructure for and defending the safety of cyclists. DOT engaged a Capstone team to determine significant variables that affect bicycle ridership and to develop a model that can accurately predict the number of cyclists in any street segment across four contiguous community districts in Queens and Brooklyn. By using statistical analysis to combine DOT’s existing data with NYC open data, the team identified significant physical and social factors that influence how many riders are seen on each street. The team used these factors to predict ridership across the study area. The team’s research culminated in a report identifying the important variables and providing recommendations for how to scale the model to larger study areas and make it more comprehensive.