Understanding Transit Riders in the Moment
Transit is experienced in real time.
A rider’s perception of a transit system is shaped not only by schedules, routes, and infrastructure, but by the moments that happen along the way: waiting at a stop, transferring between routes, navigating a station, checking whether a bus is delayed, finding a seat, feeling safe after dark, or deciding whether a trip is worth taking again.
That is why some of the most valuable transit research happens outside the traditional survey environment. While surveys remain essential for measuring satisfaction, tracking performance, and identifying system-wide trends, they do not always capture the full context of the rider experience. To truly understand transit, we need to observe and understand the journey as it unfolds.
Going Beyond What Riders Remember
When riders are asked to re ect on a trip after the fact, their answers are shaped by memory. They may focus on the most frustrating part of the trip, the nal outcome, or a general impression of the system. Those re ections are valuable, but they can miss the smaller moments that inuence the overall experience.
In-the-moment ethnography helps fill that gap.
This approach allows researchers to understand what riders are seeing, feeling, and doing while they are actually using the system. It can include ride-alongs, station and stop observations, mobile diary activities, real-time feedback, photo or video prompts, and journey-based interviews. The goal is not just to ask riders what happened, but to understand the experience from their perspective while it is happening. For transit agencies, this creates a much richer picture of the rider journey
Applying This Approach in Our Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) Work
Our work has included broad rider experience tracking, deeper exploration of safety and security perceptions, and research into regional transit experiences where riders connect from surrounding communities into the ETS network. These projects have reinforced an important lesson: transit experiences are not dened by one single moment. They are shaped by the complete journey. For example, perceptions of safety and security are inuenced by many factors, including the stop or station environment, time of day, crowding, lighting, the presence of other riders, visibility of sta or security personnel, and the level of condence riders have when something unexpected happens. A rider may feel comfortable on one part of the trip but uncertain during a transfer, while waiting alone, or when travelling at night. Similarly, regional transit users often experience the system as a connected journey rather than as separate services. Their trip may begin in another municipality, connect into Edmonton, require a transfer to an ETS bus or LRT, and then continue to their nal destination. In these cases, the experience is shaped not only by the regional service itself, but also by the ease of connection, timing of transfers, clarity of information, fare/payment experience, and condence in navigating the ETS network. In-the-moment research is especially valuable in these contexts because it captures the actual points of friction, uncertainty, and condence that riders experience along the way.
What In-the-Moment Research Reveals
In our transit research projects, we often see that the most important insights are found in the details. A rider may say they are satis ed overall, but in the moment we may observe confusion around signage, uncertainty during a transfer, concern about personal safety, or frustration with inconsistent information. These details matter because they often explain the “why” behind the numbers. For example, a satisfaction survey may show lower ratings for reliability, safety, or ease of connection. In-the-moment ethnography can help identify what is driving those perceptions. Is the issue related to wait times, crowding, lack of real-time information, the condition of a stop, the behaviour of other passengers, poor lighting, transfer timing, or uncertainty about what to do when something goes wrong?
Capturing the Complete Rider Journey
Transit is rarely a single interaction. It is a sequence of decisions and experiences. A rider may walk or bike to a stop, wait for a bus, transfer to LRT, use a fare product, check an app, adjust their route, and then complete the nal portion of their trip. For regional riders, that journey may also involve moving between systems, municipalities, fare products, schedules, and service expectations. Each step can either build condence in the system or create friction.
In-the-moment ethnography is especially valuable because it captures the full journey, including the parts that may not be visible through operational data alone. It helps identify where riders feel condent, where they feel uncertain, and where the system may be creating unintended barriers. This is particularly important when studying youth riders, occasional riders, non-riders, seniors, persons with disabilities, newcomers, regional commuters, and riders using multiple modes of transportation. These groups often experience the system di erently, and their challenges may not always show up clearly in traditional survey results.
Building Better Transit Through Better Understanding.
In-the-moment ethnography allows agencies to see the system through the eyes of the people who use it. It brings the rider journey to life and helps identify the speci c moments that matter most — whether that is waiting at a stop, transferring between services, navigating a regional connection, or deciding whether transit feels safe, reliable, and convenient enough to use again. Better transit decisions start with better understanding. And often, that understanding begins in the moment.
