Seeing the Bigger Picture: How Data Uncovers the Power of Public Transit

Each year, public transit in Greenville County serves approximately 750,000 rides across more than 270 miles of service and 480 stops, with access available to 32% of households. These numbers matter, but their impact depends on how clearly they’re understood. 

Data like this is used to inform decision-making, but only when people can understand it. When information is complex or ineffectively presented, it can overwhelm rather than inform. By integrating data effectively, complex information becomes easier to grasp, giving individuals the knowledge they need to make choices supported by data. 

Expertise That Turns Data Into Insight 

The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities at Furman University specializes in turning complicated data into insightful, visual tools. This work is powered by Shi Institute experts like Mike Winiski, director of the Center for Applied Sustainability Research, and Jack Buehner, lead programmer and GIS analyst. Together, they focus on helping people make sense of data by building dashboards and processes that turn raw data into clear maps, statistics and figures. 

“We’re not just organizing data; we’re working with our partners to make it meaningful,” said Mike. “When you see less noise and more signal in the data, those insights can drive real impact.”   

Supporting Transit Advocacy 

Nowhere is the power of clear, accessible data more evident than in public transportation, an area that closely aligns with the Shi Institute’s focus on fostering sustainable communities. While public transportation reduces environmental impacts with fewer cars on the roads and less traffic, it also helps the whole community by offering equitable access to essential services. 

In Greenville County, the public transit system is administered by Greenlink, which operates 12 fixed routes. Compared to peer cities like Columbia, Winston-Salem and Greensboro, Greenville has historically underinvested in public transit. Recent improvements for riders, such as increasing service frequency on four routes from 60 to 30 minutes during peak times, signals progress, but there is still room for improvement.  

Greenville Connects, a nonprofit that has advocated for public transportation in Greenville since 2014, had a vast amount of transit data, but no way to effectively use it. To better communicate the importance of public transit through this data, Greenville Connects partnered with the Shi Institute to create a unique dashboard.  

About the Dashboard 

The Shi Institute built a customized dashboard that operates as an advocacy and educational tool for Greenville Connects. It reveals how essential public transportation is for accessing jobs, schools, healthcare and other essential services, especially for those who do not own a car.    

The dashboard organizes data by Special Emphasis Neighborhoods, political districts, and census-designated places such as Berea and Taylors. One unique feature of the dashboard is that users can compare regions across time periods, including historical views that show how coverage has evolved. 

Dashboard Highlights 

The dashboard is organized into five tabs: 

• General Access
  General statistics, demographic information, ridership counts, routes, bus stops, miles of service, traffic volume by travel mode, and potential future routes. It also displays trips that could be served by public transit but aren’t currently.  

• Future Opportunities 
  Scenarios showing potential future stops and coverage if funding is available.   

• Job Access
  Explains how transit can help the economy by connecting riders to work areas such as retail, office, and education facilities and schools. 

• Access to Essential Services
  Travel times via public transit to access essential services, such as grocery stores, medical facilities, childcare and commercial areas.  

• Roads or Transit?
  Side-by-side comparisons of road infrastructure costs versus public transit investments.  

Designed for Access and Longevity 

The dashboard was built with accessibility in mind. Its responsive design works across devices, supports keyboard navigation, accommodates color-blind users and allows data to be easily shared with others.   

The Shi Institute created an interactive dashboard that will help people see the positive impact public transportation has on the community. The Shi Institute’s profound understanding of the Greenville community and their internal knowledge of data integration made them the ideal partner for Greenville Connects. “It’s such a robust dashboard; it just blows me away whenever I look at it,” said Erin Predmore, executive director of Greenville Connects. “They saw all of the possibilities and included them all in this layered way.”  

Built to grow with the data, the dashboard will support Greenville Connects’ advocacy and storytelling efforts for years to come as new data is integrated. Public transit plays a vital role in ensuring access to essential services and employment opportunities, helping the environment, and providing equity and access to reliable, safe public transportation that gives people choices. Together, these insights position Greenville Connects as a trusted, transparent source of information, strengthened by the Shi Institute’s ability to use data to support sustainable, equitable communities.  

Want to learn more about the dashboard? View the Frequently Asked Questions for further information.