---
title: Bus and Rail Methodology and Validation
description: Get the data sources, methodology, and validation behind StreetLight Data’s Bus Metrics, now included in our Multimode subscription. This technical paper establishes confidence in the sources and data processing.
---

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# WHITE PAPER

## Bus Metrics Methodology and Validation

Good-quality bus trip data is essential to plan for efficient and consistent transit. Deriving transit metrics from Big Data can help transportation planners and transit agencies with many use cases including ridership estimation across transit networks for any given month and deep dives into bus rider demographics that can aid Title VI requirements. 

We have recently enhanced our methodology, resulting in better bus trip classification and sample expansion across time and space. Learn more about our methodology and validation, including: 

![Bus Methodology and Validation](https://learn.streetlightdata.com/hs-fs/hubfs/White%20Papers/Bus%20and%20Rail%20Methodology%20and%20Validation/Bus/Bus%20Methodology%20and%20Validation.png?width=260&height=336&name=Bus%20Methodology%20and%20Validation.png)

- Our process for mode classification to identify transit movements 
- The proprietary machine-learning methodology for estimating Bus Index 
- Validation studies comparing StreetLight’s Metrics against ground-truth bus ridership data and national travel surveys 

Transportation professionals across North America trust our bus metrics. Download our white paper to see our extensive analysis. 

### Download the White Paper

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