Transport equity and COVID-19: a systematic review of accessibility and policy implications

Telehealth has been widely employed and has transformed how healthcare is delivered in the United States as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. While telehealth is utilized and encouraged to reduce the cost and travel burden for access to healthcare, there are debates on whether telehealth can promote equity in healthcare services by narrowing the gap among diverse groups. Using the Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) and Two-Step Virtual Catchment Area (2SVCA) methods, this study compares the disparities of physical and virtual access to primary care physicians (PCPs) in Louisiana. Both physical and virtual access to PCPs exhibit similar spatial patterns with higher scores concentrated in urban areas, followed by low-density and rural areas. However, the two accessibility measures diverge where broadband availability and affordability come to play an important role. Residents in rural areas experience additive disadvantage of even more limited telehealth accessibility than physical accessibility due to lack of broadband service provision. Areas with greater Black population proportions tend to have better physical accessibility, but such an advantage is eradicated for telehealth accessibility because of lower broadband subscription rates in these neighborhoods. Both physical and virtual accessibility scores decline in neighborhoods with higher Area Deprivation Index (ADI) values, and the disparity is further widened for in virtual accessibility compared to than physical accessibility. The study also examines how factors such as urbanicity, Black population proportion, and ADI interact in their effects on disparities of the two accessibility measures.

The geography of e-shopping in China: On the role of physical and virtual accessibility

Using virtual accessibility and physical accessibility as joint predictors of activity-travel behavior

Unveiling substitution patterns of work trips by teleworking and their associations with physical and virtual accessibility in the Brazilian COVID-19 crisis

Assessing equity in public transportation in an Indian city

Bibliometric analysis of equity in transportation

Evaluating equal access to opportunities across social groups is an important aspect of transport equity research, but existing schemes rarely focus on accessibility to specific opportunities for specific groups. This study distinguishes between different education groups and job sectors which come from Nation Census Statistics and National Economic Census, respectively, with the aim of evaluating transport equity in Beijing by examining the disparity between high- and low-education groups in accessing job opportunities of specific sectors with different education requirements. Using the bivariate local spatial autocorrelation model to reveal the relationship between provision of accessibility and the population quantity of different groups in regions based on different transport modes. Regions with low accessibility level but high groups numbers may rise to inequity of transport. It was found that high-education groups had more equal accessibility to high-education job opportunities than low-education groups had in their access to low-education jobs. In terms of diversity of opportunity, the differences in job accessibility between low- and high-education groups tended to diminish, and equity in accessibility was also improved. Disadvantaged areas with high population demands for jobs exhibited lower accessibility levels by public transport compared to car travel, and more of the low-education groups were located in disadvantaged areas and obtained fewer opportunities, particularly for the groups without Hukou status. Diversity of opportunity helped to reduce the difference between car travel and public transport in disadvantaged areas, and also decreased the inequities in accessibility among different educational groups. To improve transport equity, it is recommended to prioritize public transport in fringe areas and disadvantaged areas, and the development of multi-job sectors in these areas should be undertaken to cater to the demands of different education groups.

This study examines the dynamics of language maintenance at Istana Dalam Loka, focusing on the role of various domains in both physical and virtual access to the site. Utilizing data from Google Search and Google Trends, the research analyzes the prevalence of different domains—tourism, historical and cultural, religious, entertainment, and educational—within the virtual landscape, and compares them to their physical reality. The findings indicate that tourism is the most dominant domain, both in physical and virtual contexts, followed by historical and cultural activities. However, despite the stream of external influences through tourism, the study reveals a strong resistance to language and cultural differences, as the local Sumbawa culture remains deeply rooted in activities conducted at Istana Dalam Loka. This cultural resistance suggests that Sumbawa language and cultures are being maintained through a process similar to a sociolinguistic diversity of 'melting pot,' where diverse languages and cultures are integrated to the Sumbawa language and culture. The study concludes that while virtual access offers an alternative platform for language contact and multicultural engagement, it is primarily locals who both produce and consume content related to Istana Dalam Loka in virtual access. It also ensures the continued dominance of Sumbawa language and culture. Keywords: domain, Istana Dalam Loka, language maintenance, Sumbawa language and culture, virtual access

Shared mobility is a transportation strategy that is rising in prominence and has thepotential to align with supportive land use, mobility, social, and environmental goals. As a concept, the term applies to any mode, whether bicycle, car, public transit, or other mode, in which shared use (concurrent or sequential) is often facilitated by smartphone apps and technology. Casual carpooling is one example in which sharing has been more organic and non-technological in nature. Given shared mobility’s notable growth and expansion in recent years, it merits a deeper understanding in light of its public policy potential and expansive scope. It is now being used outside of the urban core in both suburban and rural contexts. To facilitate a greater understanding of shared mobility, particularly among policymakers and planners, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Shared Mobility: Current Practices and Guiding Principles and the American Planning Association’s (APA) Planning for Shared Mobility were authored.

Shared (electric) mobility is still facing challenges in terms of reaching its potential as a sustainable mobility solution. Low physical and digital integration with public transport, a lack of charging infrastructure, the regulatory barriers, and the public nuisance are hindering the uptake and organization of shared mobility services. This study examines the case of the shared mobility hub, a location where shared mobility is concentrated, as a solution to overcome these challenges. To find ideas informing how a network of shared mobility hubs can contribute to sustainable urban mobility and to overcome the aforementioned challenges, a business model innovation approach was adopted. Focus groups, consisting of public and private stakeholders, collaboratively designed five business model (BM) blueprints, reaching a consensus about the value creation, delivery, and capture mechanisms of the network. The blueprints, defined as first-/last-mile, clustered, point-of-interest (POI), hybrid, and closed mobility hub networks, provide alternative solutions to integrate sustainable transportation modes into a coherent network, enabling multi- and intermodal travel behaviour, and supporting interoperability, sustainable land use, and ensured access to shared (electric) travel modes. However, which kind of network the local key stakeholders need to commit to depends on the local policy goals and regulatory context.

Prelims

Shared transport modes can potentially contribute to first and last mile connections of public transport (PT) trips but this remains quite underexplored in the literature. Our study explores the user preferences for shared modes as first and last mile option to connect activity locations. We have focussed on local public transport in the Utrecht province, The Netherlands, which includes bus and tram lines. Its diversity in land use and PT network density, the overall high bicycle usage, as well as the increased proliferation of shared mobility concepts yield promising information which can be a harbinger for future PT integration worldwide. For both the urban and suburban areas of the province, we have designed and conducted a stated choice experiment. Respondents were able to choose from shared bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-mopeds to reach their urban destination from a PT stop. For suburban destinations, we also included light-electric vehicles (LEVs), e-cars, and demand-responsive taxi services. Such a complete list of possibilities to travel by shared modes allows comparing the different options and producing trade-offs not available yet in the literature. A sample of 499 respondents (285 urban and 214 suburban PT travellers) considered their first and last mile mode choice of a recent PT trip in light of the new options. Results show that shared (electric-)bicycles and e-scooters are generally preferred over other shared mobility options. The latter specifically targets younger people (<26 years) and travellers towards suburban destinations. Still, a majority of PT users prefers not to use shared modes in the first and last mile. We found that age, current cycling behaviour and weekday/weekend travelling are the most important factors which determine these preferences. We argue that shared bicycles and e-bikes are the most capable modes in providing benefits to PT travellers in this context and, given the relatively low travel time sensitivity, can best be distributed around the most important PT stops.

Transport equity as relative accessibility in a megacity: Beijing

4 - Shared mobility and public transit: A love-hate story

Persons with physical disabilities and autonomous vehicles: The perspective of the driving status