Examining the Equitability of Public Transit Policies in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver

This major research paper (MRP) will provide a comparative analysis of the equity policies within the transportation networks of three major Canadian cities: Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. During the course of researching this MRP, it became evident that Vancouver’s TransLink transit system would be a useful model to utilize as the basis of this comparative study, due to its extensive equity policies, and funding of its transit network, in relation to the transportation systems of Toronto and Montréal. In addition, TransLink has implemented these equitable measures without being mandated to do so by the Government of British Columbia. Vancouver’s transit policies employ a number of comprehensive equity measures, which were examined using two theoretical lenses of horizontal and vertical equity, and these were then compared to Montréal’s Société de Transport and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). These lenses aid in providing a deeper understanding of the policies employed by these transportation networks; as well as affording a basis for the comparative analysis.

Examining the Equitability of Public Transit Policies in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver

This major research paper (MRP) will provide a comparative analysis of the equity policies within the transportation networks of three major Canadian cities: Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. During the course of researching this MRP, it became evident that Vancouver’s TransLink transit system would be a useful model to utilize as the basis of this comparative study, due to its extensive equity policies, and funding of its transit network, in relation to the transportation systems of Toronto and Montréal. In addition, TransLink has implemented these equitable measures without being mandated to do so by the Government of British Columbia. Vancouver’s transit policies employ a number of comprehensive equity measures, which were examined using two theoretical lenses of horizontal and vertical equity, and these were then compared to Montréal’s Société de Transport and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). These lenses aid in providing a deeper understanding of the policies employed by these transportation networks; as well as affording a basis for the comparative analysis.

Review of Key Findings and Future Directions for Assessing Equitable Cycling Usage

Research studies on mode shift toward sustainable transport, particularly cycling, have become more common in the last decade. Despite some success in increasing cycling usage, there exist many barriers, both environmental and societal. This study provides a review of the key equity findings to date in cycling usage and identifies knowledge gaps. Barriers to cycling from an equity perspective are examined from three perspectives: policy and planning, infrastructure and cycling facilities, and population groups. The review includes both peer-reviewed and grey papers. Using a systematic review process, out of 73 documents, 33 which met the scope of the study were carefully examined. The review showed that accessibility is the most common measure for bicycling equity. A key knowledge gap is the lack of robust measures to determine inequities in cycling and evaluate the distribution of benefits across population groups. This is attributed to the lack of measures to effectively evaluate a program or policy from an equity perspective. Consequently, this review emphasizes the need to develop and evaluate equity measures for effective policymaking, to ensure that the needs of different population groups are met. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research, given the identified knowledge gaps.

Incorporating Equity into Pedestrian Master Plans

This research provides a framework for addressing inequities through municipalities’ transportation plans, which have no federal equity requirements and have been given little guidance for incorporating equity. Fifteen pedestrian master plans are reviewed for their equity considerations to derive a tripartite framework for systematically incorporating equity into transportation plans, known as The Three A’s of Equity. Acknowledgment recognizes equity as a value of the plan and that there are transportation inequities to be eliminated; Accountability establishes equity measures to be achieved by the transportation plan; and Application identifies the interventions that will be implemented to help achieve equity. Using the proposed framework, the 15 plans are evaluated for their equity considerations. The analysis finds that cities are increasingly including equity into their pedestrian master plans, but do so inconsistently, seldom include the Accountability element, and rarely include race in their equity considerations. The proposed framework, the Three A’s of Equity, can guide cities in systematically incorporating equity into their transportation plans to ideally advance more equitable outcomes.

Can Combining Performance-Based Financing With Equity Measures Result in Greater Equity in Utilization of Maternal Care Services? Evidence From Burkina Faso

Background: As countries reform health financing systems towards universal health coverage, increasing concerns emerge on the need to ensure inclusion of the most vulnerable segments of society, working to counteract existing inequities in service coverage. To this end, selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa have decided to couple performance-based financing (PBF) with demand-side equity measures. Still, evidence on the equity impacts of these more complex PBF models is largely lacking. We aimed at filling this gap in knowledge by assessing the equity impact of PBF combined with equity measures on utilization of maternal health services in Burkina Faso. Methods: Our study took place in 24 districts in rural Burkina Faso. We implemented an experimental design (clusterrandomized trial) nested within a quasi-experimental one (pre- and post-test design with independent controls). Our analysis relied on self-reported data on pregnancy history from 9999 (baseline) and 11 010 (endline) women of reproductive age (15-49 years) on use of maternal healthcare and reproductive health services, and estimated effects using a difference-in-differences (DID) approach, purposely focused on identifying program effects among the poorest wealth quintile. Results: PBF improved the utilization of few selected maternal health services compared to status quo service provision. These benefits, however, were not accrued by the poorest 20%, but rather by the other quintiles. PBF combined with equity measures did not produce better or more equitable results than standard PBF, with specific differences only on selected outcomes. Conclusion: Our findings challenge the notion that implementing equity measures alongside PBF is sufficient to produce an equitable distribution in program benefits and point at the need to identify more innovative and contextsensitive measures to ensure adequate access to care for the poorest. Our findings also highlight the importance of considering changing policy environments and the need to assess interferences across policies.

Vertical equity in access to health insurance services: A qualitative analysis of perceptions and enrolment in the Jirapa Municipality, North-western Ghana

Abstract Background: Cost continues to be an important barrier to accessing health services in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) partly due to the inability of health systems in those settings to adequately implement equity measures that aim to offer financial protection to disadvantaged population groups such as indigenous and rural residents. Drawing on a framework for assessing financial access to health services, this article provides evidence of vertical inequity in the distribution of the cost of national health insurance contribution among rural and urban residents in a municipality in northern Ghana. Methods: A qualitative approach was used to collect and analyse the data. Specifically, the concurrent use of in-depth interviews and observation provided the needed data to critically analyse the relationship between location, livelihoods and ability to pay for health insurance services. Results: The paper argues that flat rate contributions for populations in the informal sector of the economy and lack of flexibility and adaptability of timing premium collections to the needs of the poor contradict the vertical equity objectives of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). The current payment arrangement makes the cost of NHIS membership disproportionately higher for rural residents. Conclusion: As this might deter them from enrolling in the scheme as much as their urban counterparts, we advocate strict adherence and implementation of the scheme’s vertical equity measures through the adoption of the Ghana National Household Register (GNHR) as a tool for ensuring that contributions are graduated according to income and collection is well-timed.

A review of measuring brand equity with emphasis on the role of price premium

Practitioners and marketers have leveraged brand equity in order to charge a premium price for their products, relative to competition, in the marketplace, yet, we do not find a systematic literature review that captures the importance of this metric as an outcome of brand equity. The purpose of this review is to fill this gap. This review (a) identifies and summarises the relevant literature, providing an understanding of brand equity; (b) highlights the academic literature which compares various brand equity measures and identifies price premium as a key metric; and (c) highlights empirical research work that identifies and validates price premium as a key metric in the B2C marketplace. This review suggests future research directions, exploring the relevance of a price premium metric as a service brand equity measure.

Spatial characterization of the targeting’s worst-off au Burkina Faso

Introduction In 2014, the Government of Burkina Faso received technical and financial support from the World Bank to test the PBF project with various equity measures. Health equity measures included community based selection of worst-off and user fee exemption for them at the point of service. This selection was carried out in 8 health districts. More than 110,000 worst-off have been selected. Several analyses show that their use of care remains low. Our study aims to characterize the selection of the indigent by considering geographical determinants in order to better understand the weakness of access to care. Methods We have mapped the selection of the indigent based on the geolocation data collected with a GIS. We carried out spatial analyses to measure access to localities, health center and the main access roads. We have also integrated population data and geo-environmental characteristics. All these data were aggregated in 500 m cells to provide all variables on a single scale. A total of 9 variables were generated to characterize the spatial targeting’s worst-of. We combined two cluster analyses, i.e., k-means, and hierarchical clustering. Results We obtain a characterization of the selection into four classes. These classes highlight that the community-based selection of the worst-off is unequal in terms of distances to localities, health centres, and isolation. The results refine our knowledge of geographical accessibility to health centres by illustrating that distances to the health care centre are not the only geographical determinants to be considered. Conclusions This study is a contribution to the analysis of the characterization of the targeting of the worst-off. The results suggest that it is important to strengthen support for the most isolated worst-off for an access care. More broadly, this study shows that it is necessary to integrate the geographical dimension into the definition of targeting the worst-off. Key messages It is necessary to integrate the geographical dimension into the definition of targeting the worst-off. It is important to strengthen support for the most isolated worst-off for an access care.