How İzmir’s Transit Network Found Its Way Back After the Pandemic

The first sign of recovery in a transit system is simple: the ridership line goes up. The harder question is what that line hides.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, İzmir’s public transport network did not simply return to normal. It reorganized. While some modes carried the absolute volume burden, others recovered much faster relative to their baseline. Concurrently, the passenger mix shifted as schools reopened, work habits evolved, and restrictions lifted.

This 3D, interactive simulation maps İzmir’s transit network. By linking municipal open data to a spatial particle system, it allows us to analyze ridership volume, recovery pace, and rider demographics simultaneously.

Visual Encodings

The scene uses motion and color to encode transport datasets:

• Density & Volume: The concentration of moving particles corresponds to absolute monthly trips.
• Speed & Index: Particle flow speed indicates relative recovery indexed against January 2021 baseline levels (Jan 2021 = 100).
• Mode vs. Demographics: The display toggles between color-coding by transit mode (buses, rail, tram, ferry) and color-coding by passenger fare groups (students, full-fare, elderly).

Key Insights

1. Volume vs. Pace: Buses remain the absolute backbone of İzmir’s transport system, carrying the widest daily loads. However, rail systems (Metro and İZBAN) show much steeper indexed recovery slopes, rebounding rapidly once urban movement resumed.
2. Demographic Rebound: Student ridership recovered in sharp, seasonal surges. By viewing the demographic mix, the recovery is revealed not as a uniform return of commuters, but as a series of distinct social groups returning at different rates.

Why 3D Geography?

A flat chart struggles to show spatial relationships. İzmir is a city defined by its bay. Its transport logic depends on cross-bay ferries, a north-south rail spine, coastal tramways, and radial bus networks.

By projecting WGS84 GPS coordinates into a local Three.js space, the visualization maintains geographic context, allowing readers to see how the recovery physically moved across the bay and through the city’s key hubs.

Data Source: İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Open Data Portal