  The effectiveness of rapid rail transit system is analyzed using tools of
complex network for the first time. We evaluated the effectiveness of the
system in Beijing quantitatively from different perspectives, including
descriptive statistics analysis, bridging property, centrality property,
ability of connecting different part of the system and ability of disease
spreading. The results showed that the public transport of Beijing does benefit
from the rapid rail transit lines, but there is still room to improve. The
paper concluded with some policy suggestions regarding how to promote the
system. This study offered significant insight that can help understand the
public transportation better. The methodology can be easily applied to analyze
other urban public systems, such as electricity grid, water system, to develop
more livable cities.
