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Urban Transit Planner

Designs public transportation systems — bus routes, metro networks, bike lanes.

Did you know?

Bogota's TransMilenio bus rapid transit system opened in 2000 and runs about 1,800 buses on its main lines, which have their own dedicated lanes.

How subjects help

Mathematics: Work out how often buses should run so passengers are not left waiting in long queues.
Geography: Map where people live and work to decide where new bus and metro stops should go.
Economics: Set fares that cover running costs while keeping travel affordable for everyone.

A famous name

Janette Sadik-Khan: As New York City's transport chief (2007–2013) she added about 400 miles of bike lanes and Times Square plazas.

Try it yourself: Design a bus route for your town

Draw a simple map of a made-up town, or your own area from memory, with homes, a school, shops, a park and a doctor's surgery. Put a star where lots of people live.
Draw one bus route that starts and ends at the bus depot and passes near the busiest places. Mark the stops with dots.
Measure the route with the ruler. Could you make it shorter and still reach the starred areas?
Draw a second, improved route in another colour and write down what you gave up to make it faster.

Transport planners balance short, fast routes against reaching the places where most people live, work and study, because shorter routes also save fuel.

Adapted from California Academy of Sciences: Building Better Buses: Transportation Design Challenges.

Also try: Check the parcel paperwork.

Known for it in

Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Germany, Colombia