There are several challenges facing a city’s transit system:
- Decentralization and suburbanization (sprawl) have been associated with lower densities that cannot be efficiently serviced by mass transit systems outside specific corridors. Under such circumstances, transit is limited to a part of the city and city-wide services become prohibitive. Therefore, sprawl is undermining the cohesion of urban transit systems.
- Access to urban transit systems can also be a challenge, notably when connectivity between the transit city and its suburbs is complex. The goal is to offer enough incentives, such as park-and-ride facilities so that the interface between the transit and non-transit transport system is improved.
- Even within the transit city, the fixity of main transit lines creates challenges that are difficult to overcome. While transit corridors were built to service-specific commuting patterns, new travel patterns that are not supported by urban transit can emerge. These new patterns are usually the outcome of land use changes such as new (or revitalized) employment zones.