Use Case Library

RideKC wanted to determine how many workers are relying on transit to get to/from work along a heavily trafficked commercial and industrial area where transit routes and sidewalks were incomplete/non-existent. The goal of the study was to determine potential employment turn-over due to lack of job access, estimate annual labor needs/losses because of it, and partner with major employers to fund transit improvement and expansion.

El Paso utilizes the combination of Replica’s mobility, spending, and demographic data to understand changing behavior patterns post-COVID, and to support downtown economic development strategies. 

One of many related analyses is to study the difference in weekday and weekend spending across retail, grocery stores and restaurants, to influence congestion management, transit scheduling, and economic recovery.

The Washington State Transportation Electrification Strategy aims to reduce transportation emissions by 57% by 2030, with the majority of the reduction slated to come from electric vehicles. To support this plan, the WA Department of Commerce has incorporated Replica data, along with other data sources, into its EV action roadmap. Replica's trip data has been utilized in predicting EV trends and estimating charging infrastructure needs. The strategy also includes a case study on Washington's EV Charging Program, detailing fund allocation and utilization assessments based on Replica trip data.

The Brookings Institution used Replica data to analyze travel patterns in metropolitan areas, aiming to design neighborhoods and transportation systems that maximize proximity benefits. This analysis helps identify trends in travel patterns, such as how individuals aged 65 or over travel and where those without access to private automobiles are located. Understanding these patterns can inform the design of neighborhoods and transportation systems to better serve the community's needs.

The report can be read here.

New York City Transit (NYCT) is utilizing Replica data to analyze the travel behaviors of New Jersey residents commuting to Manhattan and using the subway system. This analysis aims to uncover how many New Jersey residents rely on the subway, their origins, destinations, and transportation modes.

Replica's data allows NYCT to track individual movements, including trip details like timing, transportation mode, and purpose. This information helps identify areas with high public transportation demand and informs the development of new services and infrastructure.

Additionally, NYCT can assess the effectiveness of existing services and make improvements based on the data's insights. For instance, if a particular station sees significant New Jersey resident transfers to the subway, NYCT can consider enhancing train services or staffing levels.

IDOT integrated Replica with Justice40 and US DOE datasets to evaluate existing and planning EV charging stations relative to the travel patterns of lower-income, minority populations.

Through this analysis, IDOT identified corridors with sufficient charging stations, corridors with the highest need for new charging stations, and corridors where the lack of existing infrastructure most impacted  Community of Concern residents' ability to get to work. Replica's equity-centric data has allowed IDOT, NYSDOT, and others to inform NEVI, SMART, ATTAIN, and other federal grant applications.

City of El Paso was interested in where El Paso drivers tend to drive faster (and slower) than the posted speed limit. Specifically, they wanted to look at how people drive on neighborhood roads and arterials, rather than on freeways or when they are stuck in traffic. The analysis used Replica's average 'free flow' speeds, and compared those to posted speed limits. The City created a map to visualize which neighborhoods have average free flow driving speeds that are higher and lower than the posted speed limits.

The NYS Association of MPOs (NYSAMPO) used Replica data to inform a Shared Cost Initiative — specifically a Shared-Use Transit Software Project for the case study of a bus network redesign in Oswego, NY. This work was done in conjunction with multiple consultants. The study addressed the question, "What will be the ridership impacts if transit service is modified?" To answer this question, Replica data was used to inform the development of the new bus network, paired with a ridership modeling software to forecast the number of riders on the new service. Replica's origin-destination data with demographic information was used to generate a Transit Propensity Index (TPI) as an input to the bus network redesign. The lessons learned in the study noted that "Replica data was found to be both powerful and user-friendly."

The City of Topeka analyzed Replica's consumer spending data to help forecast sales tax revenue. The City focused particularly on grocery store spending.

The Capital District Transportation Council conducted a study of a specific corridor in the Town of Brunswick. The corridor is auto-dominated and there are complaints about slow travel speeds. CDTC is interested in understanding the share of auto trips along the corridor that could be candidates for mode shift to transit (based on O/D pairs and the existing transit network, including park-and-rides).

Together, Replica and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), used Replica data to create a profile of the service area that included pandemic recovery trends and trip taker characteristics. As new Replica data is released, the Regional Profile can be updated to match the most recent data.

DuPage County's regional mobility plan received a significant update with the support of Replica data. The goal was to enhance transportation infrastructure and services by understanding resident and worker travel patterns and needs. Replica's data played a critical role, offering insights into trip origins, destinations, distances, transportation modes, and more.

Replica data helped identify the county's top destinations and create a map highlighting key locations by census tract. This information guided strategies to improve access to frequently visited places. The data also analyzed 24-hour trip patterns, common purposes (work, school, shopping), and distances traveled. Mode of transportation details informed efforts to promote sustainable options like public transit, walking, and biking, reducing congestion and improving air quality. Replica data delved into demographic characteristics, aiding strategies catering to all residents and workers, including those with disabilities, low-income individuals, and seniors.

See the report here.

Replica played a pivotal role in securing a $19 million grant for Rancho Cordova, California's Reconnecting Communities project. Dewberry, a prominent engineering and consulting firm, used Replica data, including origin-destination pairs and bike and pedestrian data, to bolster their proposal.

NYSDOT needed accurate bike and pedestrian data for North Genesee Street to support a cost/benefit analysis for a RAISE Grant Application. They turned to Replica's mode-specific network volumes and O/D data for the most relevant and current data. The project involves replacing aging bridges, installing multi-use lanes, and promoting safe access for residents to job opportunities, services, and recreational trails. NYSDOT used Replica's data to estimate bike and pedestrian trips, informing the cost/benefit analysis.

Replica's data ensured NYSDOT's analysis was accurate and up-to-date, aligning with the project's goals of enhancing access and safety.

Broward County in Florida received funding to upgrade thermal bike and pedestrian detection equipment at intersections. To determine the four intersections in greatest need of safety improvements, Broward partnered with Replica. Replica analyzed bike and pedestrian traffic data alongside crash statistics to rank intersections. The analysis factored in trip numbers and crashes to generate a prioritized list for safety upgrades.

The success of the initial pilot spurred Broward County to expand its analysis to assess 1500 more intersections. This data empowered Broward County to allocate resources efficiently, targeting intersections with high traffic and crash rates for maximum safety benefits.

PANYNJ used Replica data to generate metrics previously reported in a travel survey, to undertake a comparison to better understand if Replica data can supplement such surveys. Based on the results, Replica data can be used as an alternative data source which can help agencies reduce their costs and save time.

The City of Overland Park, Kansas, in partnership with the Mid-America Regional Council, has retained Kimley-Horn and Associates and Toole Design Group, to conduct a corridor study for 79th Street as part of the Planning Sustainable Places Program. The corridor plan utilizes Replica data is to analyze the relationship between land use and transportation along 79th Street and make recommendations regarding internal mobility enhancements and multi-modal opportunities along the corridor.

As part of the Congestion Management Process, the local MPO is undertaking a review of travel characteristics for the purpose of providing additional insights into trip making and travel patterns within Collier County. This origin and destination study utilizes Replica's seasonal disaggregate data, enabling the creation of O-D tables and matrices for specific traveler cohorts and trip purposes.

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) and Arup utilized Replica data to assess the current transit network conditions in the SACOG region, aiding in SACOG's transit re-imagination efforts. By analyzing key factors influencing network performance, Arup identified opportunities and challenges across six counties, informing a framework for transit operators and jurisdictions.

Arup's analysis identified key challenges, including declining ridership, limited access to employment centers, and disparities in travel time and cost. It emphasized the need for enhanced coordination between transit agencies to reduce mobility disparities. To address these challenges, Arup developed a strategy focusing on speed, inter-regional connections, technology use, and rider experience. Initiatives include a high-frequency transit network, expanded service to employment centers, and integrating new mobility options like bike sharing. The strategy also prioritizes emissions reduction through renewable energy adoption and promoting active transportation. To ensure equity, it aims to reduce travel time and cost for disadvantaged communities.

Chicago RTA relies on Replica Data to monitor evolving transit commuter trends. Using Replica, RTA tracks changes in daytime population counts by census tract, offering insights into transit patterns before and during the pandemic. The platform also enables RTA to forecast sales taxes and rider fares, aiding in financial and strategic planning. Replica also enables visualizations of commuting patterns, which assist in presenting findings to the board and the public.

The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan is using Replica's seasonal demographic data to inform a more targeted access program for micromobility. Specifically, the City is planning to target investment in areas with low rates of private auto availability.

Replica played a crucial role in assisting the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) in creating detailed greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories for individual municipalities. While CMAP typically conducts regional-level GHG inventories, Replica enabled CMAP to utilize local-level data for granular inventories, and resulted in county and city-level emissions data.

See the full report here.

Miami-Dade TPO sought to understand post-COVID-19 telecommuting trends as a strategy to alleviate traffic congestion. They conducted a Telecommute Study, followed by a Telecommute Pilot Program in collaboration with FDOT. To enhance their data, they used Replica to identify current telecommuting patterns, and compare both pre- and post-COVID data. Replica's data showed that in Fall 2019, 92% of employed residents in Miami-Dade County were in-person workers, with only 8% telecommuting. However, by Spring 2021, telecommuting increased to 16%, a significant shift in commute patterns. The analysis supported a pilot program where selected applicants working from home for about a year were analyzed for their sentiments and impact on vehicle miles traveled (VMT).

Replica conducted an analysis to serve as a resource for the City of New York in advancing the commitment by the Mayor and NYC DOT to implement safety improvements at 1,000 intersections across the five boroughs. With nearly 50,000 intersections citywide, there is substantial benefit to using Replica data to support the process of analyzing and prioritizing the intersections (as well as subsequently measuring the impact of improvements). Using a composite of data sources from NYC Open Data and Replica data, Replica created a dynamic visualization that enables the City to analyze a number of factors, such as intersection-specific crash statistics, travel activity, and equity considerations based on the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the trip takers. when considering prioritization decisions.

Read more and see the tool here.

Replica collaborated with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) to support compliance with California's Senate Bill 743, which mandates the evaluation of transportation impacts for development projects through vehicle miles traveled (VMT) analysis. With Replica's data, SACOG was able to access VMT patterns of residents and the road network, including the calculation of VMT for trips beyond its jurisdiction, enabling a comprehensive understanding of regional travel behavior. Such insight can inform investment decisions in infrastructure and development projects, ensuring alignment with VMT reduction goals and sustainable mobility practices.

KLD utilized Replica to look at the impact of converting a vehicle lane to a bicycle lane on a major New York City bridge. Good traffic count data was already available, but with Replica, it was possible to look at the origins, destinations, and purposes of the vehicles using the bridge to better understand the potential impact.

The City of El Paso utilized Replica data to better understand whether building walkable places actually results in more walking and reduces the number of vehicular trips. They recognized that promoting walking could address issues of equity by making the city more accessible and reducing the reliance on car ownership as a prerequisite for convenient mobility. By comparing the patterns of vehicular travel to the availability of walkable places, El Paso studied whether there was a relationship between the two and quantify the potential impact of promoting walking.

Click here to read interactive story report created by the City of El Paso summarizing this work.

Replica collaborates with engineering and planning company TMD to analyze and address gaps and inequities in transit services. TMD relies on Replica to identify unmet demand for transit services, particularly for off-peak, non-downtown-based trips that could be better served by local transit networks. Replica provides TMD with a comprehensive understanding of all trips occurring within a region and how they are currently served by the existing transit network. Through equity analyses, Replica also helps TMD evaluate and address issues related to transit routes and service times, ensuring that transit services are accessible and equitable for all members of the community.

JEO utilized Replica commercial freight data in their work with MPOs to identify freight "hot spots" in the relevant study areas. With custom geographies and link-level data, JEO was not confined to using standard census geographies for their analysis.

In collaboration with Sam Schwartz and Nelson\Nygaard, Replica supported the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Extending Transit's Reach Plan. The MTA's focus was on enhancing bicycle, pedestrian, and micromobility access to NYC's public transit network. To conduct an equity and bike demand analysis, Nelson\Nygaard used Replica's bike data along with 13 social equity indicators from the US census. Equity priority areas in the outer boroughs and end-of-line station areas were identified where bike infrastructure was lacking. Using Replica's bike data, Nelson\Nygaard provided valuable insights into bike demand, helping the MTA plan infrastructure improvements with a focus on equity.

Replica collaborated with the City of El Paso to investigate economic segregation outside the home. The partnership aimed to achieve a better understanding of the variations in activities and mobility needs of socioeconomic groups. By analyzing household income data and worker location data, the research revealed the concentration of low-income jobs in specific areas within the city. The findings informed the development of more comprehensive approaches towards achieving equitable outcomes for all residents.

The City of Newburgh, NY utilized Replica data to identify locations that meet specific criteria to help them determine where to install EV charging stations: (1) High population density; (2) Low-income; (3) Proximity to municipal parking lots; and (4) High density of visitors.

SPUR worked with Replica to pull network link volume and demographic data for bridge crossings in the Bay Area to understand which travelers will be impacted by potential toll increases.

See the full report on SPUR's website.

When the Illinois Department of Transportation engaged Replica to build the state’s first statewide activity-based travel model, it enabled statewide and local agencies to rely on a common set of assumptions in their analysis. The Chicago Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) used a Replica analysis of the demographic and socioeconomic breakdown of the ‘L’ and CTA bus ridership to better understand the inequities of commutes across different cohorts of the city’s population. Among the findings: On the Red Line, Black commuters’ travel to work takes, on average, nearly 25% longer than white residents’, culminating in an annual average of 125 hours of extra commuting — time spent away from families and participating in the local community.

The city of Kansas City, MO was considering a redevelopment proposal for a multi-block radius that included tearing down an outdated grocery store and building single family residential units. RideKC utilized Replica data to establish an economic baseline to determine if the project would improve economic conditions for the current residents and evaluate opportunities for incentivizing other developments. Replica provided data on the demographics of the area, including population density, age distribution, income levels, and household size. Additionally, Replica data helped to identify the current travel patterns of residents in the area, including where they go for work, shopping, and leisure activities.

RMI’s new e-bike calculator helps city policymakers quantify the environmental and economic benefits of replacing short-distance vehicle trips with e-bike trips. The calculator incorporates Replica data to calculate the number of weekly trips taken by vehicles originating in cities. The data is categorized by trip distance intervals, from every tenth of a mile up to five miles, then summed for 5-10 miles, 10-25 miles, and 25+ miles.

For more info, read RMI's post here.

Metro Analytics utilizes Replica to address pedestrian safety challenges. With Replica's granular data on walking behavior, Metro Analytics can analyze factors behind pedestrian-involved crashes and safety issues. Metro Analytics leverages this data to pinpoint high-risk areas and develop targeted safety strategies, including crosswalk redesigns and improved lighting. Replica's data helps to identify places where people walk less (or more) than expected, given surrounding demographics and land uses and to perform equity analyses that reveal where low-income and non-white populations face higher crash rates when walking.

The City of Overland Park, Kansas utilized Replica to create its Walkability Plan on College Boulevard Corridor. The goal of the plan is to create a strategy for creating a more walkable, engageing, and inviting place around the Convention Center and nearby amenitities. With Replica, the City was able to answer questions like, "Who is walking now? Who could be walking now? What does travel look like for visitors? For employees? What is the economic baseline of visits to the area today?"

More than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, RTA needed to understand how daytime population counts were changing, by census tract, throughout the economic recovery. The agency needed data to inform financial and strategic planning, and specifically needed to investigate how changes in commuter habits could affect funding streams via sales taxes and rider fares. Using Replica, RTA was able to estimate the number of daily commuters into each census tract during different periods throughout the pandemic. Replica provided the number of people in each tract in the daytime hours, allowing RTA to find average daytime population statistics.

See more detail here.

Replica partners with urban planning firm Alta Planning + Design to develop effective strategies for human-scaled mobility. Using Replica's advanced data analysis tools, Alta obtains granular data on walking, cycling, and other trips, identifying opportunities for promoting these modes based on factors like distance, demographics, and more. The collaboration integrates this data into GIS tools and interactive applications for public-sector clients, providing them with insights to make informed decisions on transportation planning. This partnership represents a significant advancement in data-driven solutions for human-scaled mobility challenges, driving innovation in urban planning.

Replica partnered with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) to maintain transportation impact analyses on their website during after the pandemic. CMAP required reliable trip volume data to understand current and historical trends, and Replica delivered with its mode-specific network link volumes and origin-destination data. By aggregating anonymized insights from various sources, Replica empowered CMAP to conduct thorough transportation impact analyses, informing decisions on transportation policies and infrastructure improvements. Thanks to Replica's precise trip volume data, CMAP's website remains a trusted source for transportation analyses in the Chicago region.

See the report here.

The Capital Region Transportation Council in Albany, NY used Replica data to inform the MPO's Congestion Management Process (CMP). In the 2023 update to the Capital Region's CMP, CRTC uses Replica's seasonal and weekly mobility data to explain utilization of the region's multimodal transportation system as well as work-from-home estimates. The CMP includes mode split data for Fall 2023 and also presents trends in non-motorized trip volumes dating back to 2019

Union Square Partnership needed to highlight the neighborhood's economic recovery post-COVID-19. They turned to Replica for data on retail spending, total trips, and bike usage. Using Replica's data model and public sources, they created visualizations showcasing the neighborhood's resurgence. The report, powered by Replica Data, demonstrated increased retail spending, trips, and bike usage, boosting confidence and encouraging people to return. This project underscores the value of data-driven decisions for urban revitalization and Replica's role in supporting recovery efforts.

Three adjacent cities in Kansas utilized Replica for a shared report on a large transportation corridor that spanned across all three jurisdictions. The goal was to analyze the relationship between land use & transportation along Merriam Drive in order to make recommendations regarding potential land use changes, multi-modal improvements, "green" stormwater infrastructure, and areas for public-private sector collaboration.

The Kansas City Area Development Council utilized Replica to understand local commute patterns, where and how residents of priority neighborhoods went to work, and how commute patterns changed by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

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Arlington County Transit utilized Replica for the existing conditions portion of their Strategic Transit Plan. Replica's route-level data, inclusive of travel demographics, enabled the county to to analyze bus travel patterns (including mode share, pre- and post-Covid patterns, potential routes, and other service factors) in support of the strategic plan.

The Kansas City Area Development Council utilized Replica when working with a large-scale manufacturing company that was looking to move to the area. With Replica, KCADC was able to provide significant detail on the potential labor force for a new facility that had the potential bring thousands of new jobs to the region. By providing information on age, education, existing industries of employment, and existing transportation patterns, Replica helped to strengthen the region's case to the private employer on why the new site would be a worthy investment.

RideKC and Cass County turned to Replica data to address the unique transportation and healthcare needs of the county's elderly residents. They used this data to identify high-density areas of residents aged 65 and above, understand their travel patterns and preferred modes of transportation, assess access to private automobiles, and gain insights into household incomes. Armed with these insights, RideKC and Cass County explored tailored transit solutions to better serve the aging population and provide improved access to healthcare services.

The Brookings Institute relied on Replica data for its research on vehicle miles travelled in the 110 largest U.S. Metro areas. With Replica, Brookings was able to more directly measure the relationship between residential proximity to activity centers and overall trip distances.

The results of the study can be found here.

The Greater Buffalo Niagra Regional Transportation Council utilized Replica data as an input to their long-range Metrpolitan Transportation Plan. Replica data enabled the GBNRTC to understand mode split behavior overtime and track the region's recovery after the COVID-19 Pandemic.