Public transit agencies around the world are increasingly using bus network redesigns (BNRs) to address ongoing ridership declines, but little is known about the equity impacts of these redesigns on vulnerable populations most likely to use transit to meet their daily needs. Despite Federal Transit Administration requirements for public transit agencies to assess the equity impacts of major service changes (like BNRs), analysis results are often perfunctory and unsatisfying. The academic literature has also proposed and evaluated many different performance measures in the context of equity evaluations. In this paper, we investigate a controversial BNR undertaken in Richmond, Virginia. During the planning and implementation process, different analysts reached different conclusions about potential impacts. We employ different performance measures, including service area and access changes, to show that the redesign is largely equitable but baseline levels of accessibility for vulnerable groups remain low. We also argue that a complete understanding of BNR impacts requires examining off-peak times. Meaningful public engagement is crucial for any equity analysis since the results can change substantially depending on the chosen parameters, and these parameters should be chosen by those most affected by a BNR.

世界各地的公共交通机构越来越多地使用公交网络重新设计 (BNR) 来解决持续的客流量下降问题，但人们对这些重新设计对最有可能使用公交满足日常需求的弱势群体的公平影响知之甚少。尽管联邦交通管理局要求公共交通机构评估主要服务变化（如 BNR）对公平的影响，但分析结果往往是敷衍了事且不能令人满意。学术文献还在股权评估的背景下提出并评估了许多不同的绩效指标。在本文中，我们调查了在弗吉尼亚州里士满进行的一项有争议的 BNR。在规划和实施过程中，不同的分析师对潜在影响得出了不同的结论。我们采用不同的绩效衡量标准，包括服务区和通道变化，以表明重新设计在很大程度上是公平的，但弱势群体的可达性基线水平仍然很低。我们还认为，要全面了解 BNR 影响，需要检查非高峰时间。有意义的公众参与对于任何公平分析都至关重要，因为结果可能会根据所选参数发生重大变化，而这些参数应由受 BNR 影响最大的人选择。