UCLA

Numerous studies have explored the relationship between built environment characteristics and transit ridership. However, little research has tested whether the number or size of station-adjacent commercial establishments have an independent association with rail ridership. Using negative binomial regression, I analyze the association between rail station alightings and the number of commercial establishments in three size categories: less than 700 square feet, 701–2,000 square feet, and 2,001–5,000 square feet. I also test whether these relationships vary by distance from the rail station (within a quarter-mile and a half-mile buffers) and between weekdays and weekends. I find no statistical significance between the number of small and medium-large commercial establishments within a half-mile of a station and rail a lightings. A marginal association is observed between medium establishments and rail alightings at the half-mile on weekends, though the relationship is substantively weak and does not approach the consistency or magnitude of the small establishment finding at the quarter-mile. Within a quarter-mile rail station radius, I find a modest significant positive relationship between rail alightings and the number of commercial establishments smaller than 700 square feet. The relationship between the number of commercial establishments under 700 square feet and rail alightings strengthens further on Saturday and Sunday than on weekdays. The quarter-mile proximity and weekend ridership relationship small establishments have with rail alightings highlights avenues for future research on potential causal effects and the role of small establishments in transit-oriented development planning.