Identifying spatiotemporal transit deserts in Seoul, South Korea

Transit deserts can result from the inequitable distribution of resources and services, and people living in transit deserts have limited access to transportation system. The aim of this study was to perform spatiotemporal data analysis to identify transit desert areas in Seoul in three steps. First, the transit gap between peak and off-peak hours is evaluated and various spatial changes in each temporal transit desert area are identified. Second, a spatial analysis is conducted to identify transit desert and transit oasis areas that emerge during peak hours. Lastly, an independent T-test is conducted to identify how the socio-economic characteristics of transit deserts and transit oases are statistically different. Our analysis show that, transit deserts changed across space and over the time in Seoul. Furthermore, transit deserts in general appear to be associated with socio-economically vulnerable residential areas.