Does Investing in Rail Transit Benefit the Poor? A Comparative Study of Rail and Bus Travel by Low-Income Households in the California Household Travel Survey

2018 ◽  
Vol 2672 (6) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
Ryland Lu
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Travel Survey ◽  
Household Travel Survey ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Household Travel ◽  
Low Income Households

This paper addresses academic discourse that critiques urban rail transit projects for their regressive impacts on the poor and proposes bus funding as a more equitable investment for urban transit agencies. The author analyzed data from the 2012 California Household Travel Survey on transit trips in Los Angeles County. The author cross-tabulated data on the modal breakdown of transit trips by household income category and on the breakdown of household income associated with trips by bus and rail transit modes. The author also comparatively evaluated the speed of trips (as a ratio of miles per hour) taken by rail and by bus by low-income households in the county. The author found convincing evidence that, on average, trips low-income households made by rail transit covered a greater distance per hour than trips taken by bus transit, but that trips made on the county’s bus rapid transit services with dedicated rights-of-way had a higher mean speed than those taken by rail. Moreover, the mode and income cross-tabulations indicate that rail transit projects only partially serve low-income households’ travel needs. To the extent that equitable transit planning entails minimizing the disparities in access, both rail and bus rapid transit projects can advance social justice if they are targeted at corridors where they can serve travel demand by low-income, transit dependent households.

scholarly journals Do Bus Rapid Transit Systems Improve Accessibility to Job Opportunities for the Poor? The Case of Lima, Peru

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Oviedo ◽  
Lynn Scholl ◽  
Marco Innao ◽  
Lauramaria Pedraza
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Public Transport ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
Double Difference ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Policy Objective ◽  
The Poor ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
The City

Investments in public transit infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean often aim to reduce spatial and social inequalities by improving accessibility to jobs and other opportunities for vulnerable populations. One of the central goals of Lima’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project was to connect low-income populations living in the peripheries to jobs in the city center, a policy objective that has not yet been evaluated. Building on secondary datasets of employment, household socio-demographics and origin–destination surveys before and after the BRT began operations, this paper examines the contribution of Lima’s BRT system to accessibility to employment in the city, particularly for low-income public transit users. We estimated the effects on potential accessibility to employment, comparing impacts on lower versus higher income populations, and assessed the changes in location-based accessibility to employment before (2004) and after implementation (2012) for treatment and comparison groups. We found that the BRT line reduced travel times for commuters to reach jobs, in comparison with traditional public transport in the city. However, the coverage of the BRT declines in areas with high concentrations of poor populations, limiting the equitability of accessibility improvements. The analysis by socioeconomic sub-groups found positive effects of the BRT system on accessibility for the higher income areas. Relative to the control group, accessibility increased in the 10-km boundary area of the BRT by 0.01, a seven percent increase relative to the treatment baseline accessibility index in the higher socioeconomic (SES) areas of the city. In contrast, in the areas with high concentrations of lower SES populations, the double difference estimate indicated an 11 percent decrease relative to the baseline accessibility index (0.09). We build on case-specific findings and international literature to reflect on policy avenues to include the poor in the mobility benefits of BRT systems. These measures include targeted fare subsidies for low-income groups, fare integration with other forms of public transport that reduce the cost of transfers, and the increase of coverage of the BRT through the integration of stations with non-motorized infrastructure.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Effects of Household Characteristics on Household Daily Traffic Emissions Based on Household Travel Survey Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengcheng Xu ◽  
Shuyue Wu
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Traffic Emissions ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Travel Survey ◽  
Household Characteristics ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Household Travel Survey ◽  
Household Travel ◽  
Pm2.5 Emissions

This study aimed to investigate the effects of household characteristics on household traffic emissions. The household travel survey data conducted in the Jiangning District of Nanjing City, China were used. The vehicle emissions of household members’ trips were calculated using average emission factors by average speed and vehicle category. Descriptive statistics analysis showed that the average daily traffic emissions of CO, NOx and PM2.5 per household are 8.66 g, 0.55 g and 0.04 g respectively. The household traffic emissions of these three pollutants were found to have imbalanced distributions across households. The top 20% highest-emission households accounted for nearly two thirds of the total emissions. Based on the one-way ANOVA tests, the means of CO, NOx and PM2.5 emissions were found to be significantly different over households with different member numbers, automobile numbers, annual income and access to the subway. Finally, the household daily traffic emissions were linked with household characteristics based on multiple linear regressions. The contributing factors are slightly different among the three different emissions. The number of private vehicles, number of motorcycles, and household income significantly affect all three emissions. More specifically, the number of private vehicles has positive effects on CO and PM2.5 emissions, but negative effect on NOx emissions. The number of motorcycles and the household income have positive effects on all three emissions.

Predicting and Applying Differential Response Rates in Address-Based Sampling for a Household Travel Survey

2015 ◽  
Vol 2526 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Bradley ◽  
Asa Bergman ◽  
Michelle Lee ◽  
Elizabeth Greene ◽  
Suzanne Childress
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Puget Sound ◽  
Response Rates ◽  
Initial Contact ◽  
Block Group ◽  
Travel Survey ◽  
Household Travel Survey ◽  
Household Travel ◽  
Block Groups

In recent years, the primary sampling method used for household travel surveys has shifted steadily from random digit dial telephone contact to address-based sampling based on an initial contact by mail. One advantage in the use of address-based sampling is that researchers can control the geographic distribution of households that are invited to participate in the survey and can design a sampling plan that is based on publicly available data about the demographic and geographic distribution of households in the region. This paper describes how response rates from a previous survey were used to anticipate how response rates for a household travel survey for the Puget Sound Regional Council in Washington State would vary across census block groups as a function of the percentage of low-income households in those block groups. The anticipated response rates were used to vary the number of households invited to participate from each block group to obtain a more representative sample. An analysis of the resulting Puget Sound survey data estimated a model for predicting final response rates as a function of published population statistics for the block group level. In addition to income, block group factors found to be significant predictors were household size distribution, owner versus renter fraction, vehicle ownership distribution, and commute mode shares for the nonauto modes. The transferability of the method was tested with data from a subsequent household travel survey done in Anchorage, Alaska. A model based on Puget Sound data only was used to predict response rates in the Anchorage data with success.

scholarly journals Purpose-Based Walking Trips by Duration, Distance, and Select Characteristics, 2017 National Household Travel Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (S1) ◽  
pp. S86-S93
Author(s):  
Kathleen B. Watson ◽  
Geoffrey P. Whitfield ◽  
Stacey Bricka ◽  
Susan A. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Travel Survey ◽  
Trip Purpose ◽  
Household Travel Survey ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Home Based ◽  
National Estimates ◽  
Social Recreation ◽  
Household Travel ◽  
National Household Travel Survey

Background: New or enhanced activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations is an evidence-based approach for increasing physical activity. Although national estimates for some infrastructure features surrounding where one lives and the types of nearby destinations are available, less is known about the places where individuals walk. Methods: A total of 5 types of walking trips (N = 54,034) were defined by whether they began or ended at home (home based [HB]) and trip purpose (HB work, HB shopping, HB social/recreation, HB other, and not HB trip) (2017 National Household Travel Survey). Differences and trends by subgroups in the proportion of each purpose-oriented trip were tested using pairwise comparisons and polynomial contrasts. Results: About 14% of U.S. adults reported ≥1 walking trip on a given day. About 64% of trips were HB trips. There were few differences in prevalence for each purpose by subgroup. For example, prevalence of trips that were not HB decreased significantly with increasing age and increased with increasing education and household income. Conclusions: Given age-related and socioeconomic differences in walking trips by purpose, planners and other professionals may want to consider trip origin and destination purposes when prioritizing investments for the creation of activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations where people live, work, and play.

scholarly journals Do Bus Rapid Transit Systems Improve Accessibility to Job Opportunities for the Poor? The Case of Lima, Peru

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Oviedo ◽  
Lynn Scholl ◽  
Marco Innao ◽  
Lauramaria Pedraza
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
Walking Distance ◽  
Bus Rapid Transit ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Before And After ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
The City

Investments in public transit infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean often aim to reduce spatial and social inequalities by improving accessibility to jobs and other opportunities for vulnerable populations. The Metropolitano, Lima’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project had as one of its central goals to connect low-income populations living in the peripheries to jobs in the city center. We examine the contribution of Lima’s BRT system to accessibility to employment in the city, particularly for low-income public transit users. Building on secondary datasets of employment, household socio-demographics and Origin-Destination surveys before and after the BRT began operations, we assess its effects on potential accessibility to employment, comparing impacts amongst lower versus higher income populations. Findings suggest that the BRT line reduced travel times to reach jobs, in comparison with traditional public transport in the city, amongst populations living within walking distance of the system. However, we also find that the coverage of the BRT declines in areas with high concentrations of poor and extreme poor populations, limiting the equitability of the accessibility improvements. We analyze the distributional effects of BRT infrastructure and services, discussing policy avenues that can improve the prospects for BRT system investments to include the poor in their mobility benefits.

scholarly journals The Development of an Entrepreneurship Index for Low-Income Households

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-29
Author(s):  
Mohamed Dahlan Ibrahim ◽  
Abdullah Al Mamun ◽  
Norasmah Othman ◽  
Mohd Nor Hakimin Yusoff ◽  
Naresh Kumar Samy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Entrepreneurial Orientation ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Functional Skills ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Leadership Motivation ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Low Income Households

The Entrepreneurship Index (EI) serves as a measurement tool that effectively determines if one possesses the prospect of becoming a successful entrepreneur by assessing several essential aspects, such as entrepreneurial orientation, personality, leadership, motivation and knowledge, pertaining to functional skills. Hence, the cross-sectional design was adopted in this study and quantitative data were gathered from some randomly selected 800 Asnafs (those eligible for zakat—donation for the poor) listed under the Kelantan Islamic Religious and Customs Council. The outcomes of this study that classify the aspects of EI are grouped into three categories: low, medium, and high EI. As a result, the variances between high class and both medium and low classes have been double and triple, respectively. Furthermore, participants from Bachok, on an average, obtained higher scores on EI, in comparison to those from other districts. These findings can be turned into an essential measurement tool to indicate both entrepreneurial potentials and readiness among those from rural low-income households, which can be employed by relevant bodies in their attempt to aid those with entrepreneurial prospects and higher possibilities of attaining success in the business arena.

The Geographic Spread of a Large Devaluation

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 562-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Cravino ◽  
Andrei A. Levchenko
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Regional Variation ◽  
High Income ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Geographic Spread ◽  
Mexican Peso ◽  
Low Income Households

Cravino and Levchenko (2017) establish that the 1994 Mexican peso devaluation raised the prices of consumption baskets of low-income households substantially more than the prices of the consumption baskets of high-income households. In this paper, we explore this result further by focusing on the regional variation in how much prices of consumption baskets changed following the devaluation. Our main finding is that the devaluation was anti-poor in all regions, but there is substantial regional dispersion in the relative inflation faced by the poor.

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