Transportation Dilemmas Facing Low-Income Latinos in Massachusetts

There is a critical need for increased understanding on how transportation impacts the lives of low-income people. The authors surveyed 352 mostly low-income and Latino residents in four communities representing the range of transportation environments in Massachusetts. The survey was followed up with in-depth focus groups conducted within each community surveyed. Subjects were mostly car and transit users, and few depended on walking or biking despite living in walkable communities. The cost of both car ownership and transit were major problems and many reported they had gone without other basic necessities in order to pay for transportation. Many could not afford a car and or did not have a driver’s license. Focus group participants reported they waited for months if there was insufficient money to pay for car repairs. Subjects could not access jobs that public transit did not reach, and limited service hours and infrequency of transit service were commonly-reported problems. Many subjects reported having been late for work, health care appointments, or school activities because of transportation-related issues. People without cars often had to bargain with others to get rides. These findings suggest that public transit service can mitigate the need for a car, but the service that is provided must be affordable, frequent, and extensive. Affordable transportation options are important for social mobility, and can help low-income Latinos better meet basic needs and access necessary services. The authors suggest caution in the ways in which we aim to strive for affordability.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADD50 Environmental Justice in Transportation.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Williams, Elizabeth
  • Pollack, Stephanie
  • Luna, Ivette C
  • Lopez, Russ
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC
  • Date: 2014-1-12 to 2014-1-16
• Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 13p
• Monograph Title: TRB 93rd Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile ownership; Costs; Focus groups; Hispanics; Low income groups; Public transit; Transportation disadvantaged persons; Travel behavior
• Uncontrolled Terms: Affordability
• Geographic Terms: Massachusetts
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01515740
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 14-0394
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 25 2014 9:15AM