I have a question for game theory/urban planning/transit geeks, in part for practical reasons, and in part for a story I’m developing:

Is there some sort of resource that explains “most efferent” rapid transit rider strategies, perhaps from a game theory perspective?

I’ve been living in NYC for almost a year, with frequent visits for about 6 months before that and I’ve learned things like:

  • The physical layouts of a number of station complexes and transfer points, to facilitate quick/easy transfers.

  • A faltering sense of when to take an express and when to take a local, and when it makes sense to switch.

  • A decent sense of which route will be more direct/quicker in a given situation.

  • An acceptable sense of which part of the train you need to be on.

    I’m interested in knowing if there is any work aimed at a general audience that addresses any of these questions, in particular:

  • The express/local decision making logic, particularly given situations like:

  • When does it make sense to walk ~5-10 blocks to an express stop (possibly in the wrong direction,) rather than walk a shorter distance to a local stop that would require a transfer. (If your destination is an express stop?)

  • At what point in a journey does it make the most sense to transfer between trains?

  • How does time-of-day affect the logic.

  • Specific differences (if any) for navigating subway lines with multiple converging services. (e.g. the “M” with regards to the F and E, as well as the R with regards to the N in Manhattan.)

  • Logic for transferring between non-parallel train services that intersect at multiple points in a given journey (e.g. in Brooklyn, vs. Manhattan, if needed for inter-borough trips; E/M; 4,5,6 vs N, R.)

  • Logic for transferring between services that run on the same track (e.g. in NYC: N/R, E/C, F/M, etc.) with respect to how your journey overlays the route divergence and convergences.