Transit Planning Analyst

Capital Area Transit System (CATS); Baton Rouge (LA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Capital Area Transit System (CATS) in Baton Rouge is seeking a detail-oriented Transit Planning Analyst to support evaluation and improvement of fixed-route services. You will collect and analyze ridership, performance, and geographic data to inform route and schedule decisions.

Collaborating with Operations and other departments, you will produce reports, dashboards, and maps, ensure data quality, and translate findings into practical recommendations for service changes that meet community

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience.
• At least two years of transit planning or related data analysis experience.
• Ability to collect, organize, and interpret data.
• Proficiency with Excel and data-analysis tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Analyze ridership, on-time performance, running times, and route productivity to inform service changes.
• Develop reports, dashboards, and maps to communicate findings to leadership.
• Support short- and long-range planning, including route alignments and schedules.
• Collaborate with multiple departments to ensure feasible, data-driven recommendations.
• Conduct field observations and data quality checks for GTFS and GIS data.

Skills

Excel

Data analysis

GIS

Transit planning

Communication

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

GIS software

GTFS

CAD/AVL

Job description

Position Summary

Capital Area Transit System (CATS) is seeking a detail-oriented and analytical Transit Planning Analyst to support the planning, evaluation, development, and continuous improvement of CATS fixed-route transit services. The Transit Planning Analyst collects, analyzes, and interprets ridership, service-performance, operational, demographic, and geographic data to evaluate existing service and identify opportunities for improvement. The position provides analytical support for decisions involving routes, schedules, service levels, running and recovery times, bus stops, service changes, and other transit-planning initiatives. This position works closely with Transportation Operations, the Transit Service Planning Coordinator, and other departments to help ensure service-planning recommendations are data-driven, operationally feasible, accessible, and responsive to community needs.

Key Responsibilities

Service Performance Analysis

• Analyze ridership, passenger activity, on-time performance, missed trips, running and recovery times, service hours and miles, and route productivity.


• Evaluate route and system performance to identify trends, recurring issues, and opportunities for service improvement.


• Analyze actual versus scheduled running times and identify recurring delays, bottlenecks, and schedule deficiencies.


• Develop recurring reports, tables, charts, dashboards, and other analytical materials to communicate service-performance findings.


• Conduct before-and-after analysis of implemented service changes.

Route and Service Planning

• Support analysis and development of recommendations involving route alignments, schedules, frequencies, service spans, running and recovery times, and bus stops.


• Analyze customer demand, population and employment patterns, community access, development activity, and other factors affecting transit demand.


• Support short-range service planning, including new routes, route extensions, schedule modifications, and service adjustments.


• Evaluate the potential operational and resource impacts of proposed service changes, including vehicle requirements, operator requirements, service hours, and service miles.


• Work with Transportation Operations to evaluate the operational feasibility of proposed changes.

Data, GIS and Transit Technology

• Maintain, analyze, and report information from available transit data systems, including CAD/AVL, scheduling, ridership, APC, customer, GIS, and related sources.


• Use GIS and mapping tools to evaluate service coverage, accessibility, demographics, bus-stop locations, and other geographic considerations.


• Support analysis and quality assurance of route, schedule, stop, GIS, and GTFS data.


• Identify data discrepancies and coordinate corrections as appropriate.


• Support the development of maps, presentations, reports, and other planning materials.

Bus Stop and Field Analysis

• Analyze bus-stop usage, spacing, accessibility, connectivity, and other service-planning considerations.


• Conduct field observations, ride checks, travel-time studies, and other field-based planning activities.


• Document field conditions and incorporate findings into service-planning analyses and recommendations.

Planning Coordination and Implementation Support

• Prepare technical documentation, data summaries, maps, reports, and presentations supporting planning recommendations and service changes.


• Provide analytical support during implementation of approved service changes.


• Monitor service performance following implementation and identify whether additional adjustments may be warranted.


• Collaborate with Transportation, Mobility, Customer Engagement, Maintenance, Information Technology, and other departments as necessary.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Urban or Regional Planning, Transportation Planning, Geography, GIS, Data Analytics, Public Administration, Engineering, Statistics, Business, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of directly related education and experience.


• At least two (2) years of relevant experience in transit planning, transportation planning, service planning, scheduling, operations analysis, GIS, data analysis, performance analysis, or a closely related field.


• Demonstrated ability to collect, organize, analyze, and interpret data.


• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel or comparable spreadsheet/data-analysis tools.


• Ability to identify trends, discrepancies, and relationships within operational or performance data.


• Ability to prepare clear reports, tables, maps, presentations, and other analytical materials.


• Strong written and verbal communication skills.


• Ability to work collaboratively across departments and translate analytical findings into practical recommendations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in public transit or fixed-route transportation.


• Experience analyzing ridership, on-time performance, running times, route productivity, service coverage, or similar transit-performance measures.


• Experience with GIS or mapping applications.


• Experience with transit scheduling, CAD/AVL, APC, GTFS, or related transit technology.


• Knowledge of transit-planning principles, service standards, ADA accessibility, Title VI considerations, and FTA requirements.


• Experience conducting field observations, ride checks, travel-time studies, or similar transportation studies.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to travel throughout the CATS service area to conduct field observations and ride checks.


• Ability to work occasional early mornings, evenings, or weekends when necessary to observe service or support service changes.


• Work is performed in office, transit, and field environments.

Capital Area Transit System is an Equal Opportunity Employer.