What if there was a measure of how straight a transit line's routing is? How direct is this routing? I had those questions on the afternoon of May 3, 2022. Those were the fundamental questions behind the Eliot Deviation Index - the measure that answers those questions. Put simply, the Eliot Deviation Index of a transit route is the ratio between the line distance and the displacement.
By the way - this was created as a joke at 1 in the morning. Nobody really needs this but it's fun to have anyway.
Definition
What exactly is the Eliot Deviation Index and how is it calculated? The measurement is
calculated by adding together the straight line distances between each stop, and then dividing it
by the displacement of the route. The calculator uses the Haversine formula and spherical trigonometry
to determine distances. By definition, the Eliot Deviation Index is a linear approximation,
and any other calculations claiming to be the "true Eliot Deviation Index" that do not match with the
measurements on this website are false and should not be trusted.
If the agency or route that you are looking for does not exist yet in the database, don't panic, just let us know. Contact info can be found on the bottom of this page.
Eligibility
Not every transit line is eligibile for an Eliot Deviation Index.
There are five criteria that all routes must meet.
1. The line must begin and end at different stops. No loops allowed.
2. The line must have at least three stops. (The Chilmark Rule)
3. The line must not end along the return journey to the beginning.
- 3a. Lines that end with turning loops end at the midpoint of the loop. (The Davis Rule)
- 3b. Lines must travel with two distinguishable directions (north/south, east/west, in/out). (The Naugatuck Rule)
4. The line must look like a transit line and actually make sense. (The Quincy Rule)
5. The line must be a currently operating service pattern at the time of calculation. (Rule 5 does not apply to unofficial routes,
unofficial routes are colored blue on the route listing.) (The Pawtucket Rule)
Try it Yourself
Want to see the magic of mathematics in action? There is a button at the top of this page that
says "Calculator", which will bring you to the online calculator, where you can check out
detailed stop listings for any route that has an officially calculated Eliot Deviation Index. You can
also use the stop listing on this website to create a custom route and see what the Eliot Deviation Index
would be.
Mapping
As of February 2023, KML data is provided for all lines stored in the database here.
This can be used in programs such as Google Earth and QGIS.
Measurement
Curious to learn more about how routes are measured, or how to contribute to the database? A guide is available here.
Special Thanks
The Eliot Deviation Index could not have made it this far without some help.
Thanks to those first interested in the measurement in May 2022, when there were only 300
stops in our database.
Thanks to those who questioned the definition of this measurement, in order for me to
further clarify what is eligibile and what is not. Not every bus route is the same.
Thanks to the team at my high school who allowed me to tell the story of the Eliot Deviation
Index to the rising seniors in the class of 2023.
Thanks to all of my friends who keep me going with this passion project, as well as those who have
contributed to this database in many ways, shapes, and forms.
Contact
Ben Chase (the creator of this whole thing) - [email protected] / @itsbenchase