In what instances is it better to use Zone of indifference instead of inverse distance for hot spotting?

Question

I have ridership data for transit that I am trying to hotspot to see if there are significant spatial clusters of riders in certain neighbourhoods. The data unfortunately is not tied to bus stops so I have had to sum rides for each neighbourhood and add it to the shapefile that way. I am now trying to determine which conceptualization to use. Based off of the descriptions I believe I have it narrowed down to Zone of indifference or Inverse distance. Any thoughts as to how you would go about hot spotting this data or choosing the proper Conceptualization? I have run them all as well to get a feel for the data but it has just made it more confusing.

Thank you for your thoughts!

StephnieWatson · Answer

Yeah that is what I was leaning towards as well. I just have to find a way to defend it as Inverse can also be defended depending on perspective. Haven't been able to find published articles on using this type of analysis for this type of data either. Ahh got to love thesis work!

DanPatterson_Retired · Answer

For me? Zone of indifference.  But someone is going to validly argue the opposite case.  I know that my city is currently looking at ridership.  Sometimes it isn't where you put things, it is 'when' you put them.  The routes and stop locations aren't an issue at all, ridership stagnation sometimes boils down to the prevalence of crowded buses or perceived frequency of service. Everyone wants transportation available to them, where they want it, when they want it and with a comfort level that may not be available within a sustainable cost structure.  If they can afford to avoid public transit, they will, unless other factors compel them to use it.  My guage of how well a system works is when no one talks about it.

StephnieWatson · Answer

Yeah that is what I was thinking too. So do you think that the Zone of indifference would be most acceptable choice if set at the parameters of the city? Or would you go inverse distance?