Disparity of Access: Variations in Transit Service by Race, Ethnicity, Income, and Auto Availability

This study explores the relationship between transit-based job accessibility and minority races and ethnicities, low- and middle-income households, and carless households at the block group level for the 50 largest by population metropolitan regions in the United States. A log-linear regression model is used to identify inequities in transit-based job accessibility across the US using data collected from the American Community Survey, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Smart Location Database, and the Access Across America database. The intra-metropolitan analyses reveal that accessibility is unevenly distributed across block groups that have different densities of race and levels of income. The differences in accessibility are especially apparent where there are denser pockets with higher percentages of African Americans, Hispanics, low-income households, and zero-car households. The inter-metropolitan analyses show that accessibility is unevenly distributed across metropolitan regions across the US when considering various socio-demographic populations. Different metropolitan regions provide different levels of accessibility for all investigated socio-demographic categories, whether considering racial minorities, levels of income, or car ownership. The results may inform recommendations for equitable transport planning and policy-making.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADD30 Standing Committee on Transportation and Land Development.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Borowski, Elisa
  • Ermagun, Alireza
  • Levinson, David
• 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; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 22p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; African Americans; Automobile ownership; Equity; Hispanics; Jobs; Linear regression analysis; Low income groups; Middle income groups; Minorities; Persons by race and ethnicity; Public transit
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01697945
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 19-04967
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 1 2019 3:51PM