Community Assessment Analysis

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Survey results show a high level of reliance on public transportation across all age groups in the Chinatown community:

  • Youth (under 18): 69% (145 respondents) are transit-dependent.

  • Adults: 90% (1,046 respondents) are transit-dependent.

  • Seniors (65+): 97% (795 respondents) are transit-dependent.

Overall, the vast majority of respondents depend on public transit—especially older adults, nearly all of whom rely on transit to access Chinatown.

Looking at the intercept survey, which included both San Francisco residents and visitors:

  • 92% of San Francisco residents reported needing public transit to reach Chinatown.

  • 73.8% of non-residents also require public transit.

In addition, most local respondents reported either taking transit or walking as their primary means of travel, underscoring the critical role of public transit for San Francisco residents.

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Survey results show that the top three trip purposes are:

  1. Retail shopping

  2. Work

  3. School

These are followed by medical visits, social visits, and other activities.

Among all trip purposes, retail shopping, medical visits, and work trips show the greatest dependence on public transit, while tourist-related trips are the least reliant on transit services.

The map titled “Chinatown Services” also includes the bus stops from the intercept survey, where each stop details its top three most popular trip purposes.

The visual bus stop counts reveal peak travel times and ridership patterns for people traveling to and from Chinatown.

  • Most popular arrival times: 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM

  • Most popular departure times: 8:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 4:00 PM

Among the transit lines observed, the T line showed the highest ridership. On average, approximately 23 passengers exited at Chinatown Station and 19 passengers boarded per train during the 1-month survey period.

These peaks suggest that transit is critical for both commuting hours and after-school travel, reflecting the needs of working adults, students, and families who rely on timely and frequent service. The consistently high ridership on the T line underscores its importance as a primary connection between Chinatown and the rest of the city.

A video showing the average number of people coming off at each bus stop over the course of a day.