Filtering Network Imports by Geography

Focus on just the geographic areas you are interested in

After Selecting the Agencies to import, you can filter your import by geography.

Geographic filtering serves several important purposes. Transport planners often need to focus on specific areas within a larger network, such as analyzing service in particular neighborhoods or around key points of interest. This feature is especially useful when working with large network feeds that cover extensive regions or multiple cities.

Options

  1. All: Import all routes, stops, and shapes from the network feed.
  2. By Location: Import only routes that have at least one stop inside or intersecting a specified area.

Defining Custom Areas

If you select "By Location," you can define custom areas by clicking the edit icon. This opens a map interface where you can:

  • Draw shapes (rectangles, polygons, or circles) to define areas of interest
  • Import GIS files to use pre-defined geographic boundaries
  • Use the search bar to quickly navigate to specific locations

Note: By limiting the import to relevant areas, you can significantly reduce processing time and data complexity, making your analysis more efficient and focused. Additionally, for projects that involve modifying or extending existing transit services in a specific locale, filtering allows you to isolate the relevant portion of the network for easier manipulation and analysis. However, be careful not to exclude geographies with connected services which you may want to include in future accessibility analysis. 

Next Step: Filtering Network Imports by Date