Travel behavior of unbanked, underbanked, and ultra-low-income transit riders in Ohio under covid-19

Abstract

This research focuses on unbanked, underbanked and ultra-low-income (household income under $10,000) transit riders and their travel frequency before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. 1608 transit riders from Ohio and northern Kentucky were surveyed between October 2020 and April 2021. The study examines which demographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with being unbanked or underbanked, and whether the change in weekly trips per respondent after the onset of COVID-19 varied according to banked and income status. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the unbanked respondents are most likely to have household income less than $40,000, possess no high school degree, or live in public housing. Based on the OLS regression results, the unbanked and underbanked riders reduced their total weekly trips by about 17% and 22% respectively during COVID, compared to a 35% reduction by banked riders. All income groups in our sample reduced non-work trips to a greater extent than they did work trips. However, the responsiveness of weekly work trips within the ultra-low-income group (16%) during COVID was one of the smallest among all income groups. The analysis also revealed a significant interaction between banked status and income: unbanked riders earning between $10,000 and $30,000 cut back on work and medical trips by a significantly lower proportion, compared to banked riders in the same income categories. In line with existing research, the predicted decrease in trips during COVID compared to pre-COVID was generally smaller for the lower income groups in our sample, especially for work trips. These disparities in trip frequency after the onset of the pandemic suggest that different groups of transit users may have been impacted differently by service reductions and shutdowns.