Getting to Work and Other Places the Poor Have to Go

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-13
Author(s):  
Beverly Ward ◽  
Rosemary Mathias
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
State Level ◽  
Work Force ◽  
Welfare Recipients ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Job Opportunities ◽  
Board Of Regents ◽  
Care Training ◽  
Transportation Research

Lack of reliable transportation is a major barrier to linking current welfare recipients with job opportunities. Both private vehicles and public transportation play key roles in accessing jobs. Local investments in public transportation vary significantly from area to area, resulting in disparities of what level of investment is required to ensure that adequate transportation is available for those who need it. Even in communities well-served by public transportation, current services may be inadequate for providing transportation for former welfare recipients joining the work force, especially when work transportation is linked to the need to access child care, training, education, and other services. Based on extensive work carried out by anthropologists at the USF Center for Urban Transportation Research, this presentation covers two main issues: (1) an overview of the Florida WAGES program and of efforts pertaining to welfare to work and access to jobs in other states; (2) the extent to which WAGES and public transportation programs are integrated and coordinated at the local and state level in Florida. The research was funded from the Center's base operating funds provided by the Florida Board of Regents.

scholarly journals Measuring the Role of Transportation in Facilitating Welfare-to-Work Transition: Evidence from Three California Counties

2003 ◽  
Vol 1859 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Blumenberg ◽  
Daniel Hess Hess
Keyword(s):  
Central City ◽  
Welfare Recipients ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Spatial Mismatch ◽  
Physical Separation ◽  
Job Opportunities ◽  
Work Transition ◽  
Using Data

Welfare-to-Work transportation programs are premised on a conceptualization of the spatial mismatch hypothesis that focuses on the physical separation between the central city locations of welfare participants, rapidly expanding job opportunities in the suburbs, and the long commutes needed to connect them. Using data from three diverse California counties, welfare recipients’ spatial access to employment was examined. The results indicate that the traditional notion of the spatial mismatch is less relevant to welfare recipients, many of whom live in counties in which the urban structure does not fit the simple model of poor, central-city neighborhoods and distant, job-rich suburbs. Many welfare recipients live in job-rich areas; others live in neighborhoods that are spatially isolated from employment. Therefore, to be effective, transportation policies must be tailored to the diverse characteristics of the neighborhoods in which welfare recipients live.

Transportation Planning Process for Linking Welfare Recipients to Jobs

1998 ◽  
Vol 1626 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Metaxatos ◽  
Siim Sööt ◽  
Vonu Thakuriah ◽  
Ashish Sen ◽  
Joseph DiJohn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Job Search ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Welfare Recipients ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
Implementation Phase ◽  
Latent Demand ◽  
Transportation Service

The recent welfare reform act requires most current welfare recipients to be employed within 5 years. For any program to find jobs for those previously on welfare, transportation services need to be in place before the job search process begins. Therefore, it is essential that the latent demand for commuting among welfare recipients be assessed when any public transportation service is developed. Such a planning effort is described by ( a) providing an overview of the relevant issues relating to welfare to work, ( b) proposing a regionwide planning process, and ( c) demonstrating the process by implementing the first three steps, which rely on creative data preparation and analysis. Because the most recent data sets are not currently available, the implementation phase is considered to be preliminary, but it is crucial in testing the proposed regionwide planning procedure. A full-scale study is currently under way.

Simulating individual work trips for transit-facilitated accessibility study

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruihong Huang
Keyword(s):  
Inner City ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Road Network ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Census Tracts ◽  
Transit Network ◽  
Demographic Profiles ◽  
Individual Work ◽  
Job Opportunities

To measure job accessibility, person-based approaches have the advantage to capture all accessibility components: land use, transportation system, individual’s mobility and travel preference, as well as individual’s space and time constraints. This makes person-based approaches more favorable than traditional aggregated approaches in recent years. However, person-based accessibility measures require detailed individual trip data which are very difficult and expensive to acquire, especially at large scales. In addition, traveling by public transportation is a highly time sensitive activity, which can hardly be handled by traditional accessibility measures. This paper presents an agent-based model for simulating individual work trips in hoping to provide an alternative or supplementary solution to person-based accessibility study. In the model, population is simulated as three levels of agents: census tracts, households, and individual workers. And job opportunities (businesses) are simulated as employer agents. Census tract agents have the ability to generate household and worker agents based on their demographic profiles and a road network. Worker agents are the most active agents that can search jobs and find the best paths for commuting. Employer agents can estimate the number of transit-dependent employees, hire workers, and update vacancies. A case study is conducted in the Milwaukee metropolitan area in Wisconsin. Several person-based accessibility measures are computed based on simulated trips, which disclose low accessibility inner city neighborhoods well covered by a transit network.

scholarly journals Applying Regression Discontinuity Design to Social Policy: An Evaluation of the Welfare-to-Work Program in South Korea

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Lee Seog-min ◽  
Kwon Huck-ju
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Regression Discontinuity ◽  
Minimum Cost ◽  
Security System ◽  
Welfare Recipients ◽  
Regression Discontinuity Design ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Cost Of Living ◽  
Livelihood Security ◽  
Work Program

Social policy studies focusing on poverty reduction attempt to measure poverty reductions rates and poverty gaps, but they do not provide criteria to determine whether a given social policy is a success or failure. In this study, we suggest using regression discontinuity design to establish evaluation criteria and validate estimation results in social programs. Using the dataset from the Korean Welfare Panel, first we conduct, first, a difference-in-differences comparison between welfare recipients under the National Basic Livelihood Security system and nonrecipients whose income falls under the minimum cost of living. Secondly, we establish the counterfactual effects of the program among nonrecipients whose income is below the minimum cost of living and among nonrecipients whose income is above the minimum cost of living. Last, we analyze treatment effects by comparing welfare recipients with income below the minimum cost of living and nonrecipients with income above the minimum cost of living using the regression distribution design method. We argue that the National Basic Livelihood Security system as a welfare-to-work program has positive effects on labor market participation, which has not been established by previous studies.

Secret Lives of Containers: Evidence from Texas

2003 ◽  
Vol 1833 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanda Prozzi ◽  
Kellie Spurgeon ◽  
Robert Harrison
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
Texas Department ◽  
Freight Planning ◽  
Global Movements ◽  
Transportation Research ◽  
Trucking Companies ◽  
Container Manufacturing

In 2000, the Texas Department of Transportation contracted with the Center for Transportation Research (CTR) at the University of Texas, Austin, to analyze containerized freight movements in Texas. Although aggregate data are available on the container sector and global movements, including data on container manufacturing, steamship companies, container routes, vessel capacities, and costs and supply chains, little information is available on container movements in the United States. To shippers and those directly involved in the container sector, some data on container movements in the United States—including route choice—are available. However, for those involved in freight planning at the state level, such information remains somewhat of a mystery. To fill this void, the CTR research team sought the assistance of various transportation stakeholders involved in containerized freight movements in an effort to characterize and gain a better understanding of this important and growing component of the freight sector. A total of 31 telephone interviews were conducted, involving 3 major ocean carriers, 12 trucking companies, 8 freight forwarders, 7 container leasing companies, and 1 railroad representative. Questions addressed container ownership, liability at different stages of a movement, benefits of different types of leases, container tracking (state of practice), transfer costs, security risks, and the outcome of a container at the end of its useful life. This study provides planners and those outside the industry with information on this dynamic sector and likely future changes.

Creating Intelligent, Coordinated Transit

2005 ◽  
Vol 1927 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-148
Author(s):  
Judith M. Espinosa ◽  
Eric F. Holm ◽  
Mary E. White
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Smart Card ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Automatic Generation ◽  
Client Referral ◽  
Transportation Research ◽  
Contactless Smart Card

New Mexico is among the first states in the United States to develop, implement, and deploy contactless, smart card technology in a rural area. The Alliance for Transportation Research Institute, working with the New Mexico Department of Transportation's Public Transportation Programs Bureau, developed the Intelligent, Coordinated Transit (ICTransit) smart card technology and the Client, Referral, Ridership, and Financial Tracking (CRRAFT) software. The U.S. Department of Transportation's FTA–FHWA Joint Program Office provided federal funding for the project. The ICTransit smart card functions as a universal use electronic fare card, enabling passengers to transfer between transit providers to access jobs, education, and health care beyond their local rural communities. ICTransit's Global Positioning System receiver and Pocket PC capture the time and location that passengers board and exit the vehicle and the passenger miles traveled on the vehicle. The CRRAFT software system for express scheduling, automatic generation of monthly financial reports, and onboard tracking of ridership provides increased efficiency in rural areas. The ICTransit system with CRRAFT can overcome barriers to coordinated interagency transportation and provide increased access and mobility to all, but especially to those underserved by public transportation. ICTransit with CRRAFT can empower states to build coordinated transportation networks that provide safe and seamless movement of people and enhance the quality of life.

scholarly journals Security and Safety of Rail Transit Tunnels

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Rakoczy ◽  
Stephen T. Wilk ◽  
MaryClara Jones
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
Fire Detection ◽  
The United States ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Rail Transit ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Tunnel Design ◽  
Transportation Research ◽  
Industry Needs

Transportation Technology Center, Inc., with support from the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida, was tasked by the FTA to research areas of transit safety risk, identify existing specifications and guidelines for rail transit tunnel design, construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation, and perform a gap analysis to establish the need for additional standards, guidance, or recommended practices to support and further the safe operation of the United States’ public transportation industry. This paper presents industry needs with a focus on security and safety that were identified by reviewing past tunnel incidents and related literature. The compilation of past tunnel incidents includes available reports published by the National Transportation Safety Board and other U.S. and European agencies. These reports generally involve rare but high-risk events such as fires and flooding, and emphasize public safety. A summary of needs obtained through a literature review emphasizes the need for continually updated specifications and best practices. The industry needs findings include the need for working fire detection, ventilation, and emergency egress along with coordinated emergency response plans that can be utilized by trained personnel.

Implementing social justice within activation policies: the contribution of the capability approach

2020 ◽  
pp. 139-162
Author(s):  
Jean-Michel Bonvin ◽  
Luca Perrig
Keyword(s):  
Capability Approach ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Welfare Recipients ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Policy Cycle ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Street Level ◽  
French Economy ◽  
Street Level Bureaucrats ◽  
The Capability Approach

This chapter seeks to evaluate welfare-to-work policies in Switzerland through the lens of the theory of non-domination, using the theoretical tools developed by the capability approach and the French economy of conventions. Particular attention is paid to the normativity that is conveyed at each of the three stages of the policy-making process: its design by policy-makers and high civil servants, its implementation by street-level bureaucrats, and its reception by users and beneficiaries. The economy of conventions allows for a discussion of the multiple senses of justice that are embedded in the policy instruments going down the line of implementation, and the capability approach is fruitfully mobilised in assessing the various vectors of constraint and domination that may be imposed on each actor of the policy cycle. Domination is thus conceived as emerging from considerations of desert that are imposed on street-level bureaucrats and welfare recipients. Combining qualitative research and theoretical insights, this chapter suggests that allowing a greater margin for manoeuver to street-level bureaucrats may empower recipients by facilitating the convergence of interests and thus minimising the domination that a bureaucratic apparatus frequently entails.

scholarly journals Public Transport Accessibility: A Literature Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Atiullah Saif ◽  
Mohammad Maghrour Zefreh ◽  
Adam Torok
Keyword(s):  
Public Transport ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Transportation Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
Transport Accessibility ◽  
Job Opportunities ◽  
Considerable Impact

Accessibility is one of the most important outcomes of the transportation system. Public transport can be more attractive by providing "Door to door mobility" and development of transportation services is an important factor of social quality. Public transport accessibility has gained vital importance in designing and evaluating the transit system in terms of mobility and sustainability. Apart from the transport system itself, public transport accessibility has the considerable impact on life satisfaction in the form of perceived accessibility. Moreover, researchers have revealed several impact and correlation of provision of public transport accessibility to the environment and daily life which would have a noticeable impact on public health and other aspects of public daily life. Furthermore, the correlation between public transport accessibility and job opportunities has attracted the researchers' attention in the literature. Also, public participation in social activities has been investigated based on public transport accessibility and their close connection has been revealed under the topic of social exclusion. In this paper, the available literature on public transport accessibility has been reviewed. As a conclusion, it should be highlighted that not just the performance of public transportation but its impact on other social aspects should be considered while planning the public transport facilities.

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