A social equity analysis of the U.S. public transportation system based on job accessibility
Armin Jeddi Yeganeh
School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Tech, USA
Ralph Hall
School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Tech, USA
Annie Pearce
Department of Building Construction, Virginia Tech, USA
Steve Hankey
School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Tech, USA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2018.1370
Keywords: Social sustainability, transit equity, the Gini Index, equality, justice
Abstract
Access to quality public transportation is critical for employment, especially for low-income and minority populations. This study contributes to previous work on equity analyses of the U.S. public transportation system by including the 45 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in a single analysis. Year-2014 Census demographic data were combined with an existing 2014 dataset of transit job accessibility. Then, transit equality and justice indicators were developed and a regression analysis was performed to explore trends in transit job accessibility by race and income. The findings suggest that within individual MSAs, low-income populations and minorities have the highest transit job accessibility. However, the overall transit ridership is low, and in certain MSAs with high transit job accessibility both high and low income populations have high access levels but middle income populations do not. Within individual MSAs, on average, accessibility differences by income are greater than accessibility differences by race. The relative importance of race versus income for injustice increases with MSA size. In upper mid-size and large MSAs, differences by race increase. Also, the differences by race are greater among low-income populations. Accessibility-related equality and justice indicators are only one of many issues that comprise the wider discussion of equity.References
ASCE (2017). 2017 Infrastructure report card. Retrieved from www.infrastructurereportcard.org
Bertolaccini, K., & Lownes, N. (2013). Effects of scale and boundary selection in assessing equity of transit supply distribution. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2350), 58-64.
Bertolini, L., Le Clercq, F., & Kapoen, L. (2005). Sustainable accessibility: a conceptual framework to integrate transport and land use plan-making. Two test-applications in the Netherlands and a reflection on the way forward. Transport Policy, 12(3), 207–220.
Behrsin, I., & Benner, C. (2017). Contested spaces and subjectivities of transit: Political ecology of a bus rapid transit development in Oakland, California. Journal of Transport Geography, 61, 95-103.
Bhat, C. R., Handy, S., Kockelman, K., Mahmassani, H. S., Chen, Q., & Weston, L. (2000). Accessibility measures: formulation considerations and current applications. Work, 7, 4938–2.
Bills, T., Sall, E., & Walker, J. (2012). Activity-based travel models and transportation equity analysis: Research directions and exploration of model performance. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2320), 18-27.
Bills, T. S., & Walker, J. L. (2017). Looking beyond the mean for equity analysis: Examining distributional impacts of transportation improvements. Transport Policy, 54, 61-69.
Blumenberg, E., & Ong, P. (2001). Cars, buses, and jobs: welfare participants and employment access in Los Angeles. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (1756), 22-31.
Bocarejo, J. P., & Oviedo, D. R. (2012). Transport accessibility and social inequities: a tool for identification of mobility needs and evaluation of transport investments. Journal of Transport Geography, 24, 142–154.
Bullard, R. D. (1994). Overcoming racism in environmental decisionmaking. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 36(4), 10-44.
Bullard, R. D., & Johnson, G. S. (1997). Just transportation: dismantling and class barriers to mobility. New Society.
Bullard, R. D., Johnson, G. S., & Torres, A. O. (Eds.) (2004). Highway robbery: Transportation racism & new routes to equity. South End Press.
Burchardt, T., Le Grand, J., & Piachaud, D. (1999). Social exclusion in Britain 1991—1995. Social Policy & Administration, 33(3), 227–244.
Bureau, B., & Glachant, M. (2011). Distributional effects of public transport policies in the Paris Region. Transport Policy, 18(5), 745-754.
Ceriani, L., & Verme, P. (2012). The origins of the Gini index: extracts from Variabilità e Mutabilità (1912) by Corrado Gini. The Journal of Economic Inequality, 10(3), 421–443.
Chen, N., & Akar, G. (2016). How do socio-demographics and built environment affect individual accessibility based on activity space? Evidence from Greater Cleveland, Ohio. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 10(1), 477–503.
Clark, L. P., Millet, D. B., & Marshall, J. D. (2014). National Patterns in Environmental Injustice and Inequality: Outdoor NO2 Air Pollution in the United States. PLOS ONE, 9(4), e94431.
Currie, G., & Delbosc, A. (2010). Modelling the social and psychological impacts of transport disadvantage. Transportation, 37(6), 953–966.
Delbosc, A., & Currie, G. (2011). Using Lorenz curves to assess public transport equity. Journal of Transport Geography, 19(6), 1252-1259.
Dumas, R. A. (2015). Analyzing transit equity using automatically collected data (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
El-Geneidy, A. M., & Levinson, D. M. (2006). Access to destinations: Development of accessibility measures. Retrieved from http://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/638
El-Geneidy, A., Levinson, D., Diab, E., Boisjoly, G., Verbich, D., & Loong, C. (2016). The cost of equity: Assessing transit accessibility and social disparity using total travel cost. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 91, 302-316.
Fan, Y., Guthrie, A., & Levinson, D. (2010). Impact of Light Rail Implementation on Labor Market Accessibility: A Transportation Equity Perspective. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 5(3), 28–39.
Feng, T., & Zhang, J. (2014). Multicriteria evaluation on accessibility‐based transportation equity in road network design problem. Journal of Advanced Transportation, 48(6), 526-541.
Foth, N., Manaugh, K., & El-Geneidy, A. M. (2013). Towards equitable transit: examining transit accessibility and social need in Toronto, Canada, 1996–2006. Journal of Transport Geography, 29, 1–10.
Franklin, J. P. (2005). A non-parametric analysis of welfare redistribution: The case of Stockholm's congestion pricing trial. Submitted to Transportation Research A.
Geurs, K. T., Krizek, K. J., & Reggiani, A. (2012). Accessibility analysis and transport planning: Challenges for Europe and North America. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Geurs, K. T., & Ritsema van Eck, J. R. (2003). Accessibility evaluation of land-use scenarios: the impact of job competition land-use and infrastructure developments for the Netherlands. Environment and Planning B, 30(1), 69–87.
Geurs, K. T., & van Wee, B. (2004). Accessibility evaluation of land-use and transport strategies: review and research directions. Journal of Transport Geography, 12(2), 127–140.
Glaeser, E. L., Kahn, M. E., & Rappaport, J. (2008). Why do the poor live in cities? The role of public transportation. Journal of Urban Economics, 63(1), 1-24.
Golub, A., Marcantonio, R. A., & Sanchez, T. W. (2013). Race, space, and struggles for mobility: transportation impacts on African Americans in Oakland and the East Bay. Urban Geography, 34(5), 699-728.
Golub, A., & Martens, K. (2014). Using principles of justice to assess the modal equity of regional transportation plans. Journal of Transport Geography, 41, 10-20.
Grengs, J. (2001). Does public transit counteract the segregation of carless households? Measuring spatial patterns of accessibility. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (1753), 3-10.
Grengs, J. (2002). Community-based planning as a source of political change: The transit equity movement of Los Angeles' Bus Riders Union. Journal of the American Planning Association, 68(2), 165-178.
Grengs, J. (2010). Job accessibility and the modal mismatch in Detroit. Journal of Transport Geography, 18(1), 42–54.
Grengs, J. (2012). Equity and the social distribution of job accessibility in Detroit. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 39(5), 785-800.
Handy, S. L. (2002). Accessibility-vs. mobility-enhancing strategies for addressing automobile dependence in the US. Institute of Transportation Studies.
Hansen, W. G. (1959). How accessibility shapes land use. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 25(2), 73–76.
Hess, D. B. (2005). Access to employment for adults in poverty in the Buffalo-Niagara region. Urban Studies, 42(7), 1177-1200.
Hickey, R., Lu, A., & Reddy, A. (2010). Using quantitative methods in equity and demographic analysis to inform transit fare restructuring decisions. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2144), 80-92.
Hu, L. (2015). Job accessibility of the poor in Los Angeles. Journal of American Planning Association, 81(1), 30–45.
Kain, J.F. (1968). Housing segregation, Negro employment, and metropolitan decentralization. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 82(2), 175–197.
Karner, A. (2016). Planning for transportation equity in small regions: Towards meaningful performance assessment. Transport policy, 52, 46-54.
Karner, A., & Golub, A. (2015). Comparison of Two Common Approaches to Public Transit Service Equity Evaluation. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2531), 170-179.
Karner, A., & Niemeier, D. (2013). Civil rights guidance and equity analysis methods for regional transportation plans: a critical review of literature and practice. Journal of Transport Geography, 33, 126–134.
Kenyon, S., Lyons, G., & Rafferty, J. (2002). Transport and social exclusion: investigating the possibility of promoting inclusion through virtual mobility. Journal of Transport Geography, 10(3), 207–219.
Linneker, B. J., & Spence, N. A. (1992). Accessibility measures compared in an analysis of the impact of the M25 London Orbital Motorway on Britain. Environment and Planning A, 24(8), 1137–1154.
Litman, T. (2002). Evaluating transportation equity. World Transport Policy & Practice, 8(2), 50-65.
Litman, T. (2016). Evaluating Transportation Equity Guidance For Incorporating Distributional Impacts in Transportation Planning. Victoria Transport Policy Institute.
Manaugh, K., Badami, M. G., & El-Geneidy, A. M. (2015). Integrating social equity into urban transportation planning: A critical evaluation of equity objectives and measures in transportation plans in North America. Transport Policy, 37, 167-176.
Martens, C. (2006). Basing transport planning on principles of social justice. Retrieved from http://repository.ubn.ru.nl/handle/2066/45509
Martens, K. (2012). Justice in transport as justice in accessibility: applying Walzer’s ‘Spheres of Justice’to the transport sector. Transportation, 39(6), 1035-1053.
Martens, K. (2016). Transport justice: Designing fair transportation systems. Routledge.
Martens, K., Golub, A., & Robinson, G. (2012). A justice-theoretic approach to the distribution of transportation benefits: Implications for transportation planning practice in the United States. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 46(4), 684-695.
Merlin, L. A. (2016). A portrait of accessibility change for four US metropolitan areas. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 10(1), 309–336.
Mihyeon Jeon, C., & Amekudzi, A. (2005). Addressing sustainability in transportation systems: definitions, indicators, and metrics. Journal of infrastructure systems, 11(1), 31-50.
MTC (2009). Change in Motion: Transportation 2035 Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area FINAL. Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Oakland, CA.
Owen, A., & Levinson, D. (2014). Access Across America: Transit 2014. Retrieved from http://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/168102
Pastor, M., Sadd, J., & Hipp, J. (2001). Which came first? Toxic facilities, minority move-in, and environmental justice. Journal of urban affairs, 23(1), 1-21.
Pereira, R. H. M., Banister, D., Schwanen, T., & Wessel, N. (2017). Distributional effects of transport policies on inequalities in access to opportunities in Rio de Janeiro. Retrieved from osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/cghx2
Ramjerdi, F. (2006). Equity measures and their performance in transportation. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (1983), 67-74.
Rose, M.H. & Mohl, R.A. (2012). Interstate: Highway Politics and Policy Since 1939. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN.
Sanchez, T. W., Stolz, R., & Ma, J. S. (2003). Moving to Equity: Addressing Inequitable Effects of Transportation Policies on Minorities. Cambridge, MA: The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University.
Shen, Q. (1998). Location characteristics of inner-city neighborhoods and employment accessibility of low-wage workers. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 25(3), 345–365.
Taylor, B.D., Ong, P.M. (1995). Spatial mismatch or automobile mismatch? An examination of race, residence and commuting in US metropolitan areas. Urban Studies, 32(9), 1453–1473.
USDOT (2012). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.transportation.gov/mission/about-us
USDOT Office of the Secretary (2012) Updated environmental justice order 5610.2(a). Fed. Regist. 77, 27534–27537.
van Wee, B., & Geurs, K. (2011). Discussing equity and social exclusion in accessibility evaluations. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 11(4), 350-367.
Walker, J. (2008). Purpose-driven public transport: creating a clear conversation about public transport goals. Journal of Transport Geography, 16(6), 436-442.
Weibull, J. W. (1980). On the numerical measurement of accessibility. Environment and Planning A, 12(1), 53–67.
Welch, T. F. (2013). Equity in transport: The distribution of transit access and connectivity among affordable housing units. Transport Policy, 30, 283–293.
Welch, T.F., Mishra, S. (2013). A measure of equity for public transit connectivity. Journal of Transport Geography, 33, 29–41.
Wells, K., Thill, J.-C. (2012). Do transit-dependent neighborhoods receive inferior bus access? A neighborhood analysis in four U.S. cities. Journal of Urban Affairs, 34(1), 43–63.
Whitt, J. A. (2014). Urban elites and mass transportation: The dialectics of power. Princeton University Press.
Witter, R. (2010). Public urban transport, travel behaviour and social exclusion–the case of Santiago de Chile. In XII World Conference on Transportation Research, Lisbon (July).
Zax, J.S., (1990). Race and commutes. Journal of Urban Economics, 28(3), 336–348.
Zhicai, J. U. A. N., Qingyu, L. U. O., Zhongning, F. U., & Hongfei, J. I. A. (2008). Equity effects of congestion pricing on urban road resources allocation. Journal of Transportation Systems Engineering and Information Technology, 8(1), 74-79.
