Transport Disadvantage Research Articles

Making the Connection between Transport Disadvantage and Motorcycle Usage of Low-Income People in Yogyakarta Urbanized Area, Indonesia

Low-income population is one of the groups that are vulnerable to transport disadvantage because of its limited resources, especially if they also live in areas which are not served by adequate public transportation. In such conditions, a motorcycle becomes an alternative solution to meet their mobility needs. Unfortunately, how motorcycle is used by low- income people and the influencing factors have not been fully understood. This study aims to understand the motorcycle usage in low-income people and identify the factors that contribute to the motorcycle usage in low-income people. Districts and household level of analysis were conducted in Yogyakarta Urbanized Area (YUA), Indonesia in 2014. Based on the results, the study suggests a more inclusive public transport planning in YUA by considering the need of low-income people so that efforts being made to reduce the use of motorcycles will not compromise the mobility of low-income people.

The Impact of Public Transport Subsidy on Social Inclusion: The Case of Free Train Policy in Thailand

According to growing policy awareness of the relationship between transport disadvantage and social exclusion, free train policy was launched and funded by the Thai government to provide an alternative of public transportation for low-income. Then, the main objective of this study was to systematically evaluate the impact of free train policy on promoting social inclusion in Thailand. After the intercept interviews with 392 free train users, econometric model was developed to examine the impact of public transport subsidy on social inclusion. It was shown by the model that free train persuaded 32.65 percent of passengers to travel more frequently for participating more social activities. The beneficial group was the low income citizen with monthly income less than 6,518 Baht. However, 40.31 percent of free train users was not low-income, but gained unintended benefit from this policy.

Transportation disadvantage and activity participation in the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan

This paper explores public transport related issues and their impact on activity participation in everyday life in the Pakistani urban context. The study is based on primary data collected through questionnaire survey from four case study communities in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, each of whom experience reduced access to public transport. Results show that out of home activity uptake is gender segregated. Men were more likely to travel for almost all activities. They were also more likely to either walk or use public transport for daily activity participation. On the other hand, women participated less frequently in the out of home activities. They were more likely to use personal automobile as well. Quantitative analyses highlight that transport related issues such as the financial costs of travel, availability and quality of public transport played a major role in shaping individual's activity participation. People often cut down their activities that required the use of motorized, particularly public transport. Women appeared to be additionally disadvantaged due to limited access to economic resources and increased reliance on personal means of transportation in the study area.

Differentiating metropolitan transport disadvantage by mode: Household expenditure on private vehicle fuel and public transport fares in Brisbane, Australia

Public transport (PT) has become important in everyday travels in Australian cities. Rising PT fares create a competitive disadvantage against private motor vehicles which is threatening PT ridership. This paper seeks to gain further insights into transport disadvantage by exploring spatial patterns of household transport expenditure on PT fares and private vehicle fuel use for the Brisbane metropolitan area. Several datasets are used to measure mode-specific transport costs, including the journey to work matrix, fuel efficiency of the private vehicle fleet and PT fares for the city. Through an advanced spatial analysis, the results show that PT was not a cost-effective means of transport for households when compared to private motor vehicles. The paper then compares mode-specific trip costs with patterns of suburban socio-economic disadvantage in Brisbane. We demonstrate that the high PT fares increase household exposure to higher transport costs and compound other forms of transport disadvantage and vulnerability, particularly in outer suburban areas.

Locating and quantifying public transport provision with respect to social need in Canberra, Australia

This paper identifies vulnerable, transport-poor populations in the Canberra Metropolitan Region, and in doing so, makes two significant contributions to the literature. The first contribution is methodological, advancing accessibility indicators compared with previous attempts in the literature. The second contribution is policy-relevant, identifying significant spatial gap of service in Queanbeyan, east of Canberra. This gap appears to be associated with the ACT–NSW state border. The findings are consistent with similar research projects in Australia; however, this particular research presents an example of transport disadvantage arising from governance, rather than from any particular social-spatial relationship to the configuration of the city. The findings suggest that public policy and public transport planning does not yet effectively reach across the state border.

Direct and indirect influences on employed adults’ travel in the UK: New insights from the National Travel Survey data 2002–2010

Recent years saw a continuing shift in labour force composition, e.g. greater participation of women and a prominent rise in part-time workers. There are as yet relatively few recent studies that examine systematically the influences on the travel of employed adults from such perspectives, particularly regarding possible transport disadvantages of the fastest growing segments of workers. A robust analysis requires systematic data on a wide range of explanatory variables and multiple travel outcomes including accessibility, mobility and trip frequency for different trip purposes. The UK NTS data does meet the majority of this demanding data requirement, but its full use has so far been hampered by methodological difficulties. To overcome complex endogeneity problems, we develop novel, integrated structural equation models (SEMs) to uncover the influences of latent land use characteristics, indirect influences on car ownership, interactions among trip purposes as well as residents’ self-selection and spatial sorting. This general-purpose method provides a new, systematic decomposition of the influences on travel outcomes, where the effects of each variable can be examined in turn with robust error terms. The new insights underline two direct policy implications. First, it highlights the contributions of land use planning and urban design in restraining travel demand in the 2000s, and their increasing influence over the decade. Secondly, it shows that there may still be a large mobility disadvantage among the fastest growing segments of workers, particularly in dense urban areas. This research further investigates trend breaking influences before and after 2007 through grouped SEM models, as a test of the methodology for producing regular and timely updates regarding the main influences on personal travel from a system level.

Transportation disadvantage impedance indexing: A methodological approach to reduce policy shortcomings

Access to transport systems and the connection to such systems provided to essential economic and social activities are critical to determine households' transportation disadvantage levels. In spite of the developments in better identifying transportation disadvantaged groups, the lack of effective policies resulted in the continuum of the issue as a significant problem. This paper undertakes a pilot case investigation as test bed for a new approach developed to reduce transportation policy shortcomings. The approach, ‘disadvantage-impedance index’, aims to ease transportation disadvantages by employing representative parameters to measure the differences between policy alternatives run in a simulation environment. Implemented in the Japanese town of Arao, the index uses trip-making behaviour and resident stated preference data. The results of the index reveal that even a slight improvement in accessibility and travel quality indicators makes a significant difference in easing disadvantages. The index, integrated into a four-step model, proves to be highly robust and useful in terms of quick diagnosis in capturing effective actions, and developing potentially efficient policies.

The role of transport in supporting the autonomy of young adults

This study explored the relationship between transport independence and autonomy among young people. A sample of 543 participants aged between 17 and 25years (M=21.5, SD=2.4) completed an online survey asking about well-being, psychological autonomy, transport independence and transport disadvantage. It was predicted that transport independence would be positively related to psychological autonomy and enhanced well-being, whereas transport disadvantage would be inversely related. The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. Consistent with the study hypothesis, it was found that transport independence through car ownership and low levels of transport disadvantage were associated with high levels of psychological autonomy which was strongly correlated with well-being. This suggested that having the freedom and means to get around and visit friends, go to work or school and to participate in leisure activities may provide young people with a sense of autonomy and that this may lead to enhanced well-being.

Rethinking the links between social exclusion and transport disadvantage through the lens of social capital

This paper provides a critical review of the progress in understanding the linkages between transport disadvantage and social exclusion. It follows earlier work in proposing social capital as a concept that mediates those linkages but argues that transport researchers must not confine themselves to conceptualisations of social capital as predominantly benign and capable of reducing transport disadvantage and social exclusion. A range of hypothetical pathways is discussed, highlighting the Janus-faced character of social capital as a medium for both the effectuation of progressive social change and the perpetuation and creation of social inequalities. An analysis is provided of the extent to which the recent transport-related literature supports or rejects the hypothesised pathways, and key avenues for future research are identified.

A methodological exploration to determine transportation disadvantage variables: the partial least square approach

Determining the key variables of transportation disadvantage remains a great challenge as the variables are commonly selected using ad-hoc techniques. In order to identify the variables, this research develops a transportation disadvantage framework by manipulating the capability approach. Developed framework is statistically analysed using partial least square-based software to determine the framework fitness. The statistical analysis identifies mobility and socioeconomic variables that significantly influence transportation disadvantage. The research reveals the key socioeconomic variables for transportation disadvantage in the case of Brisbane, Australia as household structure, presence of dependent family member, vehicle ownership, and driving licence possession.

Incorporating Measures of Subjective Well Being into the Measurement of Transport Equity

The socio-cultural and economic distributional impacts of transportation projects are key elements of both individual project decisions and transportation policymaking. One of these dimensions, transportation equity, roughly defined as the relative distribution of benefits and burdens of transportation investments, goods and services, is a growing area of both policy and academic concern. Most 'equity' measures are 'objective' in that they use quantitative metrics of actual burden as seen and defined by outside observers. This article examines a subjective measure of burden (the Subjective Wellbeing Index) which captures how satisfied people are with their lives on a number of domains. While this concept has been used in studies of economic development and general disadvantage, it has never been used before in the context of transport disadvantage. This article will thus accomplish a first by looking at transport costs using a subjective well-being framework using a case study of Australia and the Household Income and Labour Dynamics Survey of Australia (HILDA).

Prometna marginaliziranost na primjeru srednjoškolaca Grada Zagreba

Mogućnost upravljanja automobilom smatra se važnim segmentom u životima ljudi. Osobe koje iz određenih razloga nemaju mogućnost upravljanja automobilom u znanstvenoj se literaturi vrlo često smatraju prometno marginaliziranim osobama. Prometna marginaliziranost može utjecati na pristupanje životnim prilikama i mogućnostima. Cilj ovoga rada je ispitati utjecaj prometne marginaliziranosti na svakodnevni život srednjoškolske populacije Grada Zagreba. Istraživanje se temelji na korištenju subjektivnih pokazatelja prometne marginaliziranosti i to putem korištenja metode vlastite procjene prometnih problema i fokus grupa. Podaci su dobiveni anketnim ispitivanjem 826 učenika srednjih škola Grada Zagreba te provođenjem osam fokus grupa. Učenici srednjih škola procjenjivali su utjecaj prometnih problema s aspekta važnosti i stupnja težine kojim ih rješavaju. Analizom podataka dobiveni su podaci koji pokazuju statistički značajne razlike između učenica i učenika što može upućivati na jaču prometnu marginaliziranost djevojaka (žena) u odnosu na mladiće (muškarce). Dobiveni podaci potkrijepljeni su navodima proizašlim iz uporabe metode fokus grupa.

Where Sustainable Transport and Social Exclusion Meet: Households Without Cars and Car Dependence in Great Britain

A secondary analysis of the British National Travel Survey for the years 2002–2010 shows that the composition of the group of carless households is a good indicator of the level of car dependence in a local area: indeed, while non-car ownership in peripheral and rural areas very often correspond to a marginal socio-demographic situation, this is less and less true as one moves towards larger urban areas. Similarly, while in sparse areas most households without cars are either virtually immobile or reliant on car lifts, in large urban areas the ‘mobility gap’ between car-owning and carless households is considerably smaller, as the latter are able to use modal alternatives to the car. These findings are interpreted with reference to an integrated theoretical framework, showing how changes in land use and the environmental and social impacts of increasing motorization are intimately linked. Notably, the consequences of the self-reinforcing cycle of car dependence on two forms of car-related transport disadvantage (car deprivation and forced car ownership) are highlighted. Overall, the article highlights how the socio-demographic composition and the travel behaviour of carless households vary systematically across different types of area: this has interesting implications for sustainable transport policy and research.

Visitor users vs. non-users of public transport: The case of Munich, Germany

Abstract Although its importance for sustainable tourism is recognised little research has been conducted on tourist use of public transport. This paper examines the use of public transport by visitors in the city of Munich, Germany. Its objectives are twofold. First, it investigates the motivations for using or not using public transport. It focuses on distinctive characteristics between the users and non-users and how they are different in their demographic and travel profiles as well as their attitude towards public transport. Second, it seeks to understand which factors influence visitor use of public transport. The main reasons for visitor use of public transport are drive-free benefits, traffic reduction, advantages of local public transport, and car unavailability. In contrast, what often discourages public transport use are inconvenience and restrictions, lack of information, disadvantages of public transport and personal preferences. The five most important variables that differentiate visitor user of public transport from a non-user are length of stay, main purpose of trip, age group, frequency of public transport use at place of residence, and valid driving license ownership. The study highlights the importance of public transport information and accessible and conveniently located train stations and bus stops for visitors and locals alike. A significant finding is the extent to which public transport needs to be promoted as part of strategic destination marketing. The use of social marketing techniques to influence behavioural change with respect to public transport use is therefore desirable in the pre-trip decision stage as well as at the destination.

Determinants of Profitability of US Class I Freight Railroads

US Class I railroads have been operating profitably and carrying substantial market share of traffic, in spite of the inherent disadvantages of rail transport as well as highly developed road, water and air transport infrastructure. This paper examines the key initiatives that railroads have taken to reach this stage, as well as the factors which have enabled them to successfully deploy these initiatives. The paper then discusses the implications of these measures in terms of long term growth of the railroads and for the society.

Analysing the impact of network change on transport disadvantage: a GIS-based case study of Belfast

Low-income households are particularly vulnerable to public transport network adjustments given the financial constraints that restrict access to alternatives. Network change has the potential to impact on user’s participation in social and economic activities both positively and negatively, the latter by reinforcing isolation and barriers to opportunity. At the same time, devolved governments across the United Kingdom continue to emphasise the role of transport in combating exclusion, and the need to address transport disadvantage through strategic policy and practical deliverables. It is within this context that the public bus service in Belfast underwent both network and organisational transformation from ‘Citybus’ to ‘Metro’ in 2005. This paper reports on recently completed academic research that examined the relationship between network transformation and transport disadvantage. Whilst the research study encompassed a variety of social groups including women, young adults and elderly people this paper specifically details the experience of low-income households. With an emphasis on methodology, the paper proposes a multi-phased method for evaluating the impact of change in urban areas. By using qualitative and quantitative methods, including the modelling of geographic information, the research tests a model for implementing and on-going monitoring of network change. The Belfast experience demonstrates how network transformation can have differentiated impacts, with the argument that these could have been mitigated by more fully understanding the implications arising from change. The lesson to be applied elsewhere is that ‘unintended consequences’ are a matter to be considered by policy makers, if possible before transformation occurs rather than working in the aftermath.

Transport and social exclusion: Where are we now?

The late 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a growing interest amongst UK academics and policy makers in the issue of transport disadvantage and, more innovatively, how this might relate to growing concerns about the social exclusion of low income groups and communities. Studies (predominantly in the United Kingdom) began to make more explicit the links policy between poverty, transport disadvantage, access to key services and economic and social exclusion (see for example Church and Frost, 2000; TRaC, 2000; Lucas et al., 2001; Kenyon 2003; Kenyon et al., 2003; Hodgson and Turner, 2003; Raje, 2003).By 2003, the UK Social Exclusion Unit had published and its now internationally recognised report on this subject, which subsequently resulted in the development of a set of transport policy guidances to local authorities in England to deliver what is now commonly referred to as accessibility planning as part of their Local Transport Plans (Department for Transport, 2006). Since this time, researchers, policy makers and practitioners in several other countries became interested in adopting a social exclusion approach to transport planning, largely because of its utility in identifying the role of transport, land use planning and service delivery decisions in creating and reinforcing poverty and social disadvantage.Eight years on from the SEU report, we can begin to reflect on the extent to which a social exclusion approach to the research of transport disadvantage has been successful in opening up new avenues of research enquiry and/or identifying new theoretical perspectives and/or methodological approaches. The paper begins by briefly revisiting the basic theories and core definitions which underpin and inform a social exclusion perspective. It then considers how these have been translated and understood in terms of transport. Secondly, it considers some of the emergent empirical research of transport-related exclusion that has attempted to measure and model the interactions between transport and mobility inequalities and relational negative social outcomes. Thirdly, it offers observations on progress in some key areas of policy and practice, with specific reference to the UK and Australia. It concludes by suggesting how further progress might be made on this issue and considers whether the social exclusion agenda is still a relevant approach for achieving this.

Accessibility and capability: the minimum transport needs and costs of rural households

As a minimum, how much do rural households need to be able to afford adequate transport? This paper is drawn from the Minimum Income Standards (MIS) research programme, which primarily involves groups of members of the public reaching consensus about what households need for a minimum, socially acceptable standard of living. The paper looks at the additional needs and costs of rural households, compared with their urban counterparts, and focuses on the methodology used to research these costs. This discussion is framed in terms of transport disadvantage, and the Capability Approach. The results of the research are presented: how travel needs and costs vary for different household types; and how minimum transport costs impact on overall household budgets. The paper concludes by considering the possible application of the ‘MIS Rural’ approach in practice.

Transport accessibility and social inequities: a tool for identification of mobility needs and evaluation of transport investments

Although the concept of social equity seems to be ubiquitous in most mobility plans of major Latin American cities, when evaluating transport projects for financing and prioritisation there are no specific or solid indicators to measure how they can contribute to promoting better access to opportunities, particularly for the most vulnerable segments of the population. In response, we designed a methodology that uses the concepts of accessibility and affordability as a complementary means for evaluating public transport investment, and identifying transport disadvantages and priorities for project generation. This is based on the calculation of accessibility levels to the labour market for different zones of a given city, by introducing a function of impedance composed by travel time budget and the percentage of income spent on transportation.The characteristics of time and percentage of income spent for accessing work obtained from transportation surveys define the “real accessibility” to employment for all the zones of a city. Then, a stated preference survey was applied in order to determine the desired expenditure in both variables, and the accessibility to jobs in this new situation was subsequently calculated. We calculated a third type of accessibility, using “standard” values of travel time and expenditure budget.This methodology is therefore used to evaluate different policies in Bogota, corresponding to changes in the fare structure of the existing public transport system, by proposing the development of cross subsidies, and carrying out an appraised on the impact of the development of a new Bus Rapid Transit line. The results show that depending on the population, its location and purchasing power, the impact of a redistributive fare with respect to accessibility to the labour market can be greater than the expansion and improvement of the public transport network.

Analysis of rural activity spaces and transport disadvantage using a multi-method approach

Current knowledge about the relationship between transport disadvantage and activity space size is limited to urban areas, and as a result, very little is known about this link in a rural context. In addition, although research has identified transport disadvantaged groups based on their size of activity space, these studies have, however, not empirically explained such differences and the result is often a poor identification of the problems facing disadvantaged groups. Research has shown that transport disadvantage varies over time. The static nature of analysis using the activity space concept in previous research studies has lacked the ability to identify transport disadvantage in time. Activity space is a dynamic concept; and therefore possesses a great potential in capturing temporal variations in behaviour and access opportunities. This research derives measures of the size and fullness of activity spaces for 157 individuals for weekdays, weekends, and for a week using weekly activity–travel diary data from three case study areas located in rural Northern Ireland. Four focus groups were also conducted in order to triangulate quantitative findings and to explain the differences between different socio-spatial groups. The findings of this research show that despite having a smaller sized activity space, individuals were not disadvantaged because they were able to access their required activities locally. Car-ownership was found to be an important life line in rural areas. Temporal disaggregation of the data reveals that this is true only on weekends due to a lack of public transport services. In addition, despite activity spaces being at a similar size, the fullness of activity spaces of low-income individuals was found to be significantly lower compared to their high-income counterparts. Focus group data shows that financial constraint, poor connections both between public transport services and between transport routes and opportunities forced individuals to participate in activities located along the main transport corridors.