This topic describes the service area analysis layer's feature classes and analysis properties.
Learn more about the service area solver
Facilities feature class
The Facilities feature class stores the input facilities around which the output service area polygons are created. You can provide input field values that the service area analysis layer will reference when solving the analysis. The feature class also stores output field values once the analysis is complete.
The tables below describe the input fields and input/output fields of the Facilities feature class.
Facilities: Input fields
Input field | Description | Data type |
---|---|---|
ObjectID | The system-managed ID field. | Object ID |
Shape | The geometry field indicating the geographic location of the network analysis object. | Geometry |
Name | The name of the network analysis object. | Text |
Attr_[Cost] (For instance, Attr_Minutes, where Minutes is the travel cost) | This field stores the additional time, distance, or other travel cost for the facility. Adding a value to this field reduces the reach of the service area. For example, if you're finding the service areas for three facilities using the DriveTime impedance attribute as the cost, the Attr_DriveTime field can be used to store the amount of time spent at the facility. For example, when calculating service areas that represent fire station response times, the Attr_DriveTime field can store the turnout time for each fire station, which is the time it takes a crew to put on the appropriate protective equipment and exit the fire station. Assume Fire Station 1 has a turnout time of 1 minute and Fire Station 2 has a turnout time of 3 minutes. If a 5-minute service area is calculated for both fire stations, the actual service area for Fire Station 1 would be 4 minutes (since 1 of the 5 minutes would be required as turnout time). Similarly, Fire Station 2 would have a service area of 2 minutes from the fire station. The value you enter affects the analysis only when the [Cost] part of the field name (Attr_[Cost]) matches the cost attribute for the analysis layer or travel mode. For example, if you add a 5 to Attr_DriveMinutes, but the cost attribute used in the analysis is TruckTime, the additional 5 minutes aren't included in the analysis results; however, if you change the network cost attribute to DriveMinutes, which corresponds with Attr_DriveMinutes, the 5 minutes you entered are added to the results. | Double |
Breaks_[Cost] (For instance, Breaks_DriveTime, where DriveTime is the travel cost for the network) | You can store different polygon break values for each service area facility in the Breaks_[Cost] field. For example, for two facilities, you can generate 5- and 10-minute service area polygons for one facility and 6-, 9-, and 12-minute polygons for another facility. Multiple breaks should be specified using a space-separated string. For example, to specify 6-, 9-, and 12-minute polygons for a given facility, the field value should be 6 9 12. The value specified in the Breaks_[Cost] field overrides the Cutoffs analysis layer setting. If no value for the Breaks_[Cost] field is specified, service area polygons are generated for the facility based on the Cutoffs setting. Caution:Per-facility breaks are ignored if the analysis is configured with a polygon boundary type of Dissolve. | Text |
Network location fields
| Together, these properties describe the point on the network where the object is located. |
|
CurbApproach | The CurbApproach field specifies the direction a vehicle may arrive at and depart from the facility. If the curb approach is confined to one side of the vehicle, it may further limit the reach of the service area. The following options are available for the CurbApproach value:
| Long |
Facilities: Input/output fields
Input/output field | Description | Data type |
---|---|---|
Status | Specifies the status of the point with respect to its location on the network and the outcome of the analysis. The possible values are the following:
| Long |
Polygons feature class
The Polygons feature class stores the resultant service area polygons, which cover the areas of the network that can be reached within the given time, distance, or other travel-cost cutoff. This feature class doesn't provide inputs to the analysis layer—it stores output information only.
To generate the Polygons feature class, on the Service Area Layer tab, in the Output Geometry group, set Output Shape Type to Polygons or Polygons and Lines .
Polygons: Output fields
The following table lists the output fields of the Polygons feature class:
Output field | Description | Data type |
---|---|---|
ObjectID | The system-managed ID field. | Object ID |
Shape | The geometry of the polygon, which is stored internally. | Geometry |
Name | The name of the service area polygon is based on the name of the associated facility and the cutoff range; for example, Headquarters : 0.0 – 5.0 represents a polygon that covers all traversable edges within 5 minutes from the facility, Headquarters. | Text |
FacilityID | The unique ID of the associated facility. | Long |
FromBreak | The lower bound of the polygon's break range. | Double |
ToBreak | The upper bound of the polygon's break range. | Double |
Lines feature class
The Lines feature class stores the resultant service areas as linear features and covers the streets, or network edges, that can be reached within the given time, distance, or other travel-cost cutoff. Lines are a truer representation of a service area than polygons since service area analyses are based on measurements along the network lines.
The Lines feature class doesn't provide inputs to the analysis layer; it stores output information only.
Service area lines are not generated by default during a service area analysis, but you can generate them. On the Service Area Layer tab, in the Output Geometry group, set Output Shape Type to Lines or Polygons and Lines .
Lines: Output fields
The following table lists the output fields of the Lines feature class:
Output field | Description | Data type |
---|---|---|
ObjectID | The system-managed ID field. | Object ID |
Shape | The geometry of the line, which is stored internally. | Geometry |
FacilityID | The unique ID of the associated facility. | Long |
FromCumul_[Cost] (for instance, FromCumul_Miles, where Miles is the travel cost) | The cumulative cost of the path from the facility to the beginning of the line feature. The cost of the adjacent junction at the beginning of the line is included in this value. This field is generated for the cost attribute and any accumulation attributes. | Double |
ToCumul_[Cost] (for instance, ToCumul_Miles, where Miles is the travel cost) | The cumulative cost of the path from the facility to the end of the line feature. The cost of the adjacent junction at the end of the line is excluded from this value. This field is generated for the cost attribute and any accumulation attributes. | Double |
SourceID | Each service area line traverses a feature from a network source feature class—a feature class used to create the network dataset on which the service area analysis is performed. This field specifies the unique ID of the source feature class the traversed feature is a part of. | Long |
SourceOID | The object ID of the underlying source feature that is traversed by the service area. | Long |
FromPosition | Specifies where along the underlying source feature the service area line begins.
| Double |
ToPosition | Specifies where along the underlying source feature the service area line ends.
| Double |
Service area analysis layer properties
The following subsections list properties you can set on the analysis layer. They are on the Service Area Layer tab, which is available only if the service area layer or one of its sublayers is selected in the Contents pane.
Analysis
Use the options in this section to estimate the credits and run the analysis.
Run
Once you load input features and set analysis properties, click the Run button to run the analysis. If the analysis uses credits, and the number of credits estimated for the solve exceeds the available credits, an error message appears that blocks the solve or a warning message that allows you to choose whether to proceed with the solve.
The run button may appear different based on the source of the network dataset.
- —The network analysis layer is referencing a local network data source.
- —The network analysis layer is referencing a network data source in ArcGIS Online.
- —The network analysis layer is referencing a network data source in an ArcGIS Enterprise portal.
Estimate Credits
You can use the Estimate Credits button to estimate the number of service credits that will be consumed by running the analysis on the selected network analysis layer. When this button is enabled, it indicates that the network analysis layer will consume credits when solved.
The Estimate Credits button is enabled when the following occur:
- The network analysis layer's network data source is hosted in ArcGIS Online.
- Your ArcGIS Enterprise portal routing services are configured from ArcGIS Online.
The Estimate Credits button is disabled when the following occur:
- The network analysis layer's network data source is stored on a local machine.
- You're using your own services published on your ArcGIS Enterprise portal.
When you click the Estimate Credits button, a dialog box appears with an estimate of the number of credits that are likely to be consumed solving the current analysis. The credit estimate is based on the number of input locations used in the analysis. The actual credits consumed may change based on the output generated by the Solve operation. Depending on how your organization has set up the credit budgeting and allocation settings, the available credits may not be shown. Also, credit estimation may not always be possible if the network data source is an ArcGIS Enterprise portal with routing services configured from ArcGIS Online.
Learn more about the credit usage by each analysis type
Note:
Depending on the configuration of the ArcGIS Online organization account and the signed-in user, solving the analysis may be blocked or may show a warning if the estimated credits exceed the available credits.
Input Data
Use the options in this section to import the input features that should participate in the analysis.
Import Facilities
Use Import Facilities to load features from another data source, such as a point feature layer, into the Facilities feature class.
Import Barriers
Use the Import Point Barriers , Import Line Barriers , or Import Polygon Barriers buttons to load features from another data source, such as another feature layer, into one of the barriers feature classes (point barriers, line barriers, or polygon barriers).
Create Features
Use the Create Features button to open the Create Features pane. Select from the available templates to create features in the current map.
Travel Settings
Use the options from this section to select the travel mode and optimize the route.
Mode
Use the Mode drop-down list to choose a travel mode, which is a group of settings that together model the movement of pedestrians, cars, trucks, or other travel mode. The choices available in the drop-down list depend on the travel modes that are configured on the network data source that the network analysis layer is referencing.
Direction
You can create a service area by accumulating travel time or other cost in the direction away from or toward the facilities using one of the following options:
- Away from facilities —The service areas are measured from the facilities out to the periphery.
- Toward facilities —The service areas are measured from the periphery toward the facilities.
On a network with one-way restrictions and different travel times based on direction of travel, this would result in different service areas. The direction you should choose depends on the nature of the service area analysis. The service area for a pizza delivery store, for example, should be created for travel that spans out from the facility (Away from facilities) since pizzas are delivered from the store to the customer. Alternatively, a hospital would choose Toward facilities since the urgent part of the trip for a patient is going to the hospital, not returning home afterward.
If there is any service time at a facility (that is, the facility's Attr_[Cost] field has a positive value), the service time is included in the results immediately before the finish time when travel is toward facilities, or immediately after the start time when travel is away from facilities.
Cutoffs
The extent of the service area to be calculated is specified with the Cutoffs text box. For example, a cutoff of 10 creates service areas of 10 units (for instance, 10 minutes or 10 miles) from the facilities. The unit for the chosen travel mode is indicated to the right of the Mode drop-down list.
The Cutoffs property is used when a facility's Breaks_[Cost] field value is null. Suppose you have two facilities, A and B, for which you want to find a drive-time area. Facility A has a Breaks_DriveTime value of 3. Facility B has no value for its Breaks_DriveTime field. When you find the service area with Cutoffs set to 5 (minutes), facility A will have a 3-minute service area, and facility B will have a 5-minute service area.
Note:
Use the Cutoffs property to assign default values to facilities that do not have numeric values stored in the Break_[Cost] field.
Multiple polygon breaks can be set to create concentric service areas. For example, to find 2-, 3-, and 4-minute service areas for each facility, type 2, 3, 4 in the Cutoffs text box.
Accumulate Cost Attributes
The Accumulate Cost Attributes drop-down menu can be used to configure accumulated cost attributes. The drop-down menu is unavailable if the network data source is a service, the output geometry types do not include lines, or there are no cost attributes. The attributes are grouped by unit domain shown as the group header (for example, Time or Distance). A checked check box indicates that the analysis layer will accumulate the checked attribute during the solve.
When multiple analysis layers of the same layer type are selected, the check box shows a mixed state if all layers do not share the same checked status for one attribute. In the following image, the WeekendFallbackTravelTime attribute is selected for multiple layers, so it has a check mark:
If all selected layers share the checked status for an attribute, the check box shows that state:
Date and Time
Use the options from the Date and Time section to specify the date, time, and day that should be used in the analysis.
Learn more about date and time
Arrive Depart Date-Time Type
The Arrive Depart Date-Time Type drop-down list is available when the cost units are time based. From the drop-down list, choose whether a specific time and date value is given to indicate the time that the route or routes depart from their first stop. The primary reason for setting a specific time and date is to solve the analysis using dynamic traffic conditions or public transit schedules; however, to use traffic or public transit in the analysis, the network dataset or route service must include traffic data or public transit.
The options in the drop-down list are as follows:
Not Using Time—Regardless of whether the network data source includes time-based data, the results are based on static travel times—the travel times on a network edge don't vary throughout the day. The Time of Day and Date text boxes are unavailable.
Date & Time—Specify the time as a time of day and calendar date. The Time of Day and Date text boxes are available to provide this information.
Day of Week—Specify a time of day and day of the week. The Time of Day and Date text boxes are available to provide this information.
Today—Specify a time, and the day is assumed to be the current date. The Time of Day text box is available to provide the time of day, and the Date text box is set to Today and is unavailable so it can't be changed.
Now—When you run the analysis, the time and date are set to the current time and date. This is useful if the network dataset is configured with live traffic data, and the routes are distributed to drivers for implementing immediately after running the analysis. The Time of Day and the Date text boxes are unavailable so they can't be changed.
Time of Day
Specify the depart time of the day.
See the Arrive Depart Date-Time Type section to see when this option is enabled.
Date
Specify the depart day of the week by typing one of the following values in the Date text box:
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
See the Arrive Depart Date-Time Type section to see when this option is enabled.
Reference Time Zone
From the Reference Time Zone drop-down list , you can choose the time zone to use in the analysis. The options are as follows:
- Local Time at Locations
- UTC (Universal Coordinated Time)
Output Geometry
Use the options from this section to specify how the output will display in the map.
Polygons, Lines, and Polygons and Lines
Choose whether to generate polygons , lines , or polygons and lines as output.
Lines and polygon and lines output is not available if the network data source is a service on a version of Portal for ArcGIS that does not support generating lines.
Polygon Detail Level
You can specify the level of detail for output polygons by setting the Polygon Detail Level property:
Generalized—This option is available when the network dataset includes a hierarchy attribute.
In a hierarchical service area analysis, the solver favors higher-order edges to the lowest-order edges. This means that if a facility is located on a local road (the lowest level in a hierarchy), the solver spans out on the local roads in that area, but it tries to step up the hierarchy to secondary and primary roads. Once on secondary and primary roads, the solver ignores local roads throughout the rest of the service area. It ignores secondary and local roads once it has stepped up to primary roads. Mainly because of this hierarchical approach, nonhierarchical service areas tend to be superior in quality to their hierarchical counterparts.
Standard Precision—Standard polygons are generated quickly and are fairly accurate, but quality deteriorates somewhat as you move toward the borders of the service area polygons. Outputting standard-detail polygons may result in islands of unreached network elements, such as roads, being covered.
High Precision—Choose this option to get the most detailed polygons. Holes within the polygon may exist; they represent islands of network elements that couldn't be reached without exceeding the cutoff impedance or due to travel restrictions. Expect high-precision polygons to take the longest amount of time to generate.
You will get holes only if you use High Precision polygons and the Overlap or Dissolve output geometry setting. The Split setting will not generate holes within the polygons.
Tip:
Creating a service-area index on the network dataset can optimize processing time and improve the quality of standard- and high-precision polygons.
Boundary type
The following options are available for generating polygons or lines for multiple facilities:
- Overlap—Create individual polygons for each facility. The polygons can overlap each other.For overlapping lines, portions of the network that are within reach of more than one facility will have a line for each facility.
- Dissolve—Merge the polygons of multiple facilities that have the same cutoff values into one polygon. If the polygons of a given break value don't touch, they are nonetheless merged into one multipart polygon. This option does not apply to lines.
- Split—Create individual polygons that are closest for each facility. The polygons do not overlap each other. For split lines, none of the lines overlap each other, and a line is always assigned to the nearest facility even if more than one facility can reach it.
Polygon rings or disks
You can create concentric service area polygons as disks or rings:
- Rings—Output polygons extend between the nearest cutoff values only. They do not include the area of smaller breaks. This creates polygons between consecutive breaks.
- Disks—Output polygons extend from the facility to the cutoff. For example, if you create 5- and 10-minute service areas, the 10-minute service area polygon will include the area under the 5-minute service area polygon as well as the area from the 5-minute to the 10-minute break.
Exclude Edge Sources
You can use the Exclude Edge Sources drop-down menu to exclude certain network dataset edge sources when generating service area polygons. Polygons will not be generated around the excluded sources, even though they are traversed in the analysis.
Excluding a network source from service area polygons does not prevent those sources from being traversed. Excluding sources from service area polygons only influences the polygon shape of the service areas. To prevent traversal of a given network source, you must create an appropriate restriction when defining the network dataset.
This is useful if you have some network sources that you don't want to be included in the polygon generation because they create less-accurate polygons or are inconsequential for the service area analysis. For example, while creating a walk-time service area in a multimodal network that includes streets and metro lines, you should exclude the metro lines from polygon generation. Although the traveler can use the metro lines, they cannot stop partway along a metro line and enter a nearby building. Instead, they must travel the full length of the metro line, exit the metro system at a station, then use the streets to walk to the building. It would be inaccurate to generate a polygon feature around a metro line.
This parameter is not available when the output geometry types do not include polygons, there are fewer than two edge sources in the network, the network data source is an ArcGIS Online service, or the network data source is a service on a version of Portal for ArcGIS that does not support excluding sources.
Polygon Trim Distance
Polygon Trim Distance controls how close service area polygons should be from the reached network edges. The trim distance refers to the distance from the road the service area polygon should extend when no other reachable roads are nearby, similar to a line buffer size. It roughly models how far back from the road centerlines is considered reachable from the road. This is useful if the network is very sparse and you don't want the service area to cover large areas where there are no features.
The parameter includes a value and units for the distance. The default value is 100 meters. This parameter is disabled in the following situations:
- The Output Shape Types parameter is set to Lines.
- The Polygon Detail Level parameter is set to Generalized.
Drawing
Use the Symbology button to access the symbology pane for the active network analysis layer. You can configure the symbology for the sublayers of the active network analysis layer by choosing one of the following options:
- Single Color—This option is available for all network analysis layer types. All feature sublayers in the active network analysis layer except barriers will use the same single symbol with the specified color. For example, choosing a single color of blue for a Route layer will convert all the Stops and Routes features to the same color of blue.
- Color Linked—This option is available for Route, Last Mile Delivery, and Vehicle Routing problem layers. It applies a color scheme to the sublayers such that related features are symbolized with the same color. This symbology configuration symbolizes related features with the same color, making it easier to visually distinguish different routes and their associated features in the map. For example, for a Route layer with multiple routes, each route and the stops assigned to that route will be assigned matching colors.