Inequity in Transit: Evaluating Public Transport Distribution through Accessibility Measurements in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Recife, Brazil

Increasing attention is given to public transport services in cities of the Global South as a tool to enhance social inclusion and support economic development. Against this background, developing and evaluating indicators that quantify the distribution of public transport services from a social equity perspective is essential. The aim of the study is, therefore, to assess the equity of public transport services in four metropolitan regions in Brazil (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Recife) with two commonly used indicators of public transport provision. The first indicator measures proximity to rapid transit infrastructure (bus rapid transit, light rail and heavy rail stops with high frequency throughout the day), and the second measures accessibility to jobs by public transport. While simple indicators of proximity to public transport stops are most commonly used given their ease of operationalization and communication, accessibility to job indicators are more representative of the benefits provided to individuals by the public transport network. Combining these two indicators in one study provides a comprehensive view of the socio-spatial distribution of public transport services in four large metropolitan areas in Brazil and the results demonstrate that lower-income households are disadvantaged in terms of public transport services in all four metropolitan areas. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of quantifying accessibility by public transport, in addition to proximity to rapid transit, and thereby sheds light on the importance of developing openly available public transport schedules and geographic data. This study is of relevance to planners and researchers wishing to measure and evaluate public transport equity in the Global South.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AP025 Standing Committee on Public Transportation Planning and Development.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Boisjoly, Geneviève
  • Serra, Bernardo
  • Oliveira, Gabriel T
  • El-Geneidy, Ahmed
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2019-1-13 to 2019-1-17
• Date: 2019

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 20p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; Equity; Public transit
• Geographic Terms: Curitiba (Brazil); Recife (Brazil); Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Sao Paulo (Brazil)
• Subject Areas: Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01697499
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 19-00538
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 1 2019 3:51PM