Assessing Job Accessibility and Sustainable Mobility among Low-income Groups in Penang, Malaysia

Abstract

Sustainable mobility emerges as a more viable approach for addressing urban mobility challenges and enhancing overall quality of life. The primary cause of urban mobility issues may be attributed to the urban built environment, wherein various physical features such as buildings, public infrastructure, and transit systems have significantly contributed to the reliance on private vehicles. Hence, this study examines job accessibility and the background of mobility among the low-income groups who are the urban workers in Penang Island, Malaysia to determine the factor of this target group's dominant transport mode choice. Using the quantitative method, this study was conducted using a questionnaire with 306 respondents selected by stratified random sampling based upon a ratio to represent the low-income households in the northeast and southwest districts of Penang. The study revealed that individuals from low-income backgrounds exhibit a significant reliance on privately owned vehicles. Furthermore, individuals in question exhibit a preference for owning and utilising economically viable, temporally expedient modes of transportation that optimise spatial efficiency, such as motorbikes, for their daily commute to their place of employment. Policymakers may take into account the factors of affordability and punctuality when formulating a transport system that is characterised by both cost-effectiveness and efficiency, thereby addressing the mobility requirements of low-income groups.