Jiashu Week 9

Hi, my name is Jiashu. Welcome to my ninth Senior Project blog post!

This week I shifted focus from data analysis to writing the research paper. I drafted the overall structure and began filling in each section. Here’s the current outline:

• Abstract – A concise summary of our objectives, methods, key findings (inequality reduction, accessibility gain, revenue impact), and policy implications.

• Introduction – Background on transit equity challenges in Washington, D.C., project motivation, and research questions.

• Literature Review – Overview of prior work on subsidy design, equity metrics (e.g. Theil index), and transit accessibility modeling.

• Methodologies – Description of our statistical choice model, the nonlinear optimization framework, and calculation of utilities and Theil indices.

• Data – Sources and processing steps: ACS demographics, WMATA fares/routes, OD travel costs and times, and calculated utility measures.

• Results – Presentation of base vs. subsidized scenarios: changes in Theil index, accessibility scores, and transit revenues, with summary tables and visualizations.

• Conclusion – Interpretation of findings, limitations, and policy recommendations for equitable subsidy implementation.

Over the next week, I’ll expand each section, integrate figures and tables, and refine the narrative to ensure clarity and cohesion. I’m excited to turn our analyses into a compelling written report.

See you next week,
Jiashu