The second most popular code in the On the Table dataset was public transportation. In the formal On the Table coding process, we tagged responses that mentioned public transit or transportation by name, in addition to buses, trains, trolleys, bus rapid transit (BRT), light rail, ride shares, bike shares, and scooters. However, this is where the formal process stopped - we didn’t have any quantitative data on what specifically these responses were asking for - do they want more public transportation? less? do they have specific improvements request?

With the On the Table Microgrants Project, Krasi Staykov investigated these questions and more. Krasi created a round of sub-coding on the data - reading through all 1,744 public transportation responses to see what exactly people were saying.

Some of Krasi’s key findings are that:

• Respondents were overwhelmingly in favor of increased public transportation. Only 16 of the 1744 responses, or .05%, advocated for a reduction or removal of public transportation infrastructure. An addition 6 responses, or .03% advocated for a reduction or removal of bike infrastructure.

• There were several recurring themes for what improvements to public transit respondents were suggesting. The most popular suggestions were:

  • Adding more bus routes, particularly routes that would avoid downtown transfers

  • Adding more bus stops along existing routes, particularly inside New Circle Road

  • Improving bus stops and the transit center, including seating, covered waiting areas, sidewalk access, and lighting.

  • Increasing the frequency of existing routes

• About 50% of the sub-codes identified were related to some aspect of transportation other than bus services, including walkability and bikability, parking, and non-car centric developments. This indicates that about half of respondents who are interested in improving public transportation in Lexington are also interested in these other transportation ideas.

  • 5% of these respondents mentioned either trolley, light rail, or both. These comments were concentrated in respondents with a high degree of formal education - 84% had a bachelor’s degree or higher.