Query: public transport and equity

title: The Role of Accessibility to Public Transport and Quality of Walking Environment on Urban Equity: The Case of Santiago de Chile
abstract: Most studies of public transport accessibility have focused on proximity to stops, walking distances or time to reach them. This approach ignores other accessibility barriers, such as the quality of the urban environment of these walks. The aim of this research is to analyze both accessibility to public transport stops and the quality of the urban walking environment, exploring fairness issues across the city in terms of these two dimensions. The proposed methodology considers the definition of two indicators: walking accessibility to public transport stops and quality of the walking environment, considering different attributes and dimensions. These indicators are later used to develop a fairness analysis at the local and metropolitan level, using Lorenz curves, Gini coefficient, and Foster Greer Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measures. A diagnosis based on these indicators for Santiago de Chile allows us to suggest public policy priorities to improve accessibility to public transport and promote modal shift. The results show that 12 out of 34 municipalities in Santiago are deprived of one or both dimensions, not managing to achieve minimum fairness standards. Moreover, since a correlation between low income and poor access and urban space quality is detected, urban fairness across the city would benefit from centralized urban policies not depending on the budget of each administrative division.

title: Who gains in a distance based public transport fare scheme? Accessibility, urban form, and equity implications in Santiago, Chile
abstract: Latin American cities show deep sociospatial inequalities and urban segregation. This unequal scenario raises key challenges regarding accessibility and affordability of transport and housing, especially for the most vulnerable population which usually experiences the consequences of spatial mismatch. In Santiago de Chile, 60% of households do not own a car and depend on public transport for daily mobility. Moreover, Santiago shows a somewhat monocentric structure, oriented toward the wealthiest neighborhoods which could exacerbate the difficulty of accessing opportunities for some socioeconomic segments of the population. In this chapter, the current flat fare scheme in the public transport system of Santiago de Chile is analyzed through the lens of accessibility, affordability, and equity. Using a smart card database with route distances and travel time estimations and sociodemographic data at the municipality level, the implications of a distance based charge are examined. Accessibility levels between a flat fare and distance based fare scheme are compared in the current land use scenario as well as the equity outcomes within the city for the different fare schemes, analyzing whether either could be a progressive policy to benefit low income populations in the city through the provision of more affordable access to opportunities. The results show that the current flat fare scheme in Transantiago is preferable to a distance based scheme. People living in 62% of the municipalities in Santiago would pay more with a distance based scheme. Twelve of the municipalities have over 50% of their population in the two lowest income quintiles and these groups would be harmed by a 30% average fare increase required under a distance based fare scheme. Unsurprisingly, seven peripheral zones of the city, located mainly in the south, are the most harmed, paying on average 57% more per each public transport trip under the distance based fare scheme. Furthermore the distance based fare exacerbates the current accessibility problems in the city, increasing the generalized travel cost up to 25% for residents of some municipalities.

title: Accessibility, affordability and equity: Assessing 'pro poor' public transport subsidies in Bogota
abstract: Public transport has claimed a preferential position in recent urban development agendas internationally. Rising interest on inclusive development of cities at different levels of urban policy involves new opportunities and challenges for increasingly urban societies. In cities of the Global South, in addition to institutional and physical challenges for the development of efficient and inclusive public transport, local governments face the challenge of making public transport affordable for a large share of the population in conditions of poverty. In order to meet these challenges, several public transport systems throughout have implemented targeted subsidies for specific social groups such as students, the elderly and people with reduced mobility, and more recently for the poor. The government of Bogota has implemented a pro poor public transport subsidy scheme that aims at alleviating the financial burden of poor households for accessing the city's public transport system. This research develops an analysis of the effects of such subsidy from an accessibility perspective using potential accessibility measures to employment opportunities and assess its impact on equity. The research builds on the hypothesis that accessibility is a multi dimensional construct that can benefit from the decrease in economic as much as gains in time costs. Results from the analysis show that both the current structure of the pro poor subsidies in Bogota and alternative scenarios for increasing its coverage are progressive, improving accessibility and equity for those with access to the subsidy. The paper provides valuable insights for the analysis of similar policies in other urban contexts in the Global South.

title: Public transport equity in Shenyang: Using structural equation modelling
abstract: In China, with the rapid development of urbanisation, the contradiction between supply and demand has become increasingly severe, particularly in large and medium sized cities. Improving public transport equity can help to reduce the social exclusion of lower income and socially vulnerable groups in relation to the urban transport system, and guarantee that public transport systems are given priority in terms of development. Using the concept of transport related social equity, this study aims to explore the effects of public transport equity in relation to the quality of public transport, public participation, and public transport related policy using Shenyang as a case study. Data are analysed using Structural Equation Model (SEM) Our findings show that the three latent variables of accessibility, affordability, and social impacts can be seen as representing the main characteristics of public transport equity; while improvements in public transport quality, public participation, and public transport related polices play a significant role in reducing public transport inequity. Moreover, the findings indicate that public participation has direct, significant, positive influences on public transport quality and public transport related policies. In terms of policy implications, we suggest that policies designed to improve public transport service quality, extend public transport fare concessions, and promote public participation in the public transport policy decision making process should be given priority in the next round of urban comprehensive planning in order to reduce public transport related social inequity in Shenyang and China more generally.

title: Equity in financing public transport infrastructure: Evaluating funding options
abstract: Funding bodies are keen to find new ways of delivering new infrastructure and several funding schemes have been implemented which are based on the way in which better public transport from new infrastructure improves accessibility and raises land values have been implemented. Value capture, the term for a funding mechanism whereby the increase in land value following new infrastructure, has been widely viewed as an alternative funding tool for future public transport infrastructure and has been practiced in a number of forms (e.g. Tax increment financing (TIF) However, few studies have addressed the equity implications in relation to value capture funding schemes. This study investigates the equity implications using Gold Coast Light Rail Transit (GCLRT) stage one in Gold Coast, Australia as the case study. This case study is used to evaluate four different funding schemes based on previous and existing value capture strategies, such as land value tax, value capture strategies (e.g. TIF and special assessments) and a public transport levy. The paper considers vertical and horizontal equity. There is some evidence of high levy for low income households in the GCLRT catchment areas for value uplift based schemes. The conclusions of the paper contribute to implementation of value capture scheme for many cities in Australia and elsewhere wanting to implement similar funding schemes to fund transport infrastructure.

title: The impacts of formalization and integration of public transport in social equity: The case of Bogota
abstract: In large developing cities, accessibility to opportunities is one of the key factors to improve social equity. Not only the quality and coverage of transit have an important role in this aspect, but also the patterns of urban growth, low income settlement location, and road congestion. In terms of equity, transportation has an additional role related to externalities that have an impact on health, where low income populations are the most exposed. This paper assesses the changes that improvement in transit in Bogota over the last 20 years has brought on equity, through better accessibility and lesser externalities. Based on data from OD surveys, changes are analyzed for inhabitants of different income levels, particularly those who use public transportation. During the period 1999 2019, improvement of Bogota's public transport system included the construction and expansion of the Transmilenio BRT, the implementation of the Integrated Public Transport System (SITP) and the application of subsidies for the poorest. However, despite the significant public and private investment, the overall generalized cost of commuting has increased by nearly 44% especially due to longer travel times generated by increasing congestion. This higher cost has had a more limited impact on the low income population, whose main motorized mode is public transport. While the poorest still make a greater effort in time and money, per capita access to employment opportunities has increased by 24% Only half of the job opportunities for the low income population would be reachable in one hour, compared to 85% for the high income segment. However, this gap has been reducing in the 2005 2019 period. Emissions due to mass transit improvement have decreased by 40% and road fatalities by 27% This has certainly a positive impact on inequities caused by transportation, as low income neighbourhoods have far worse indicators in terms of those externalities.

title: Equity measures for the identification of public transport needs
abstract: The present paper deals with the identification of the PT needs taking into account not only effectiveness and efficiency of the PT services but also equity issues. The PT needs refer to the identification of the possible spatial development of corridors, connecting areas of the urban agglomeration, in which there is the need of upgrading the overall performance of the PT services. The main novelties of the paper concern with the determination of the zones with a low "quality" of PT supply and the assessment of priorities and areas of upgrading of the PT system, so supporting the transport planning decisions. This paper focuses on measuring the equity in terms of "quality" of PT system using a new approach based on the computation of the GINI index and the Lorenz curve. In this context, the equity is related with the fair allocation of transport resources. The procedure proposed has been applied in a real size context of the city of Rome. The case study shows promising results about the robustness of the proposed approach from the methodological point of view and the capability to assess effective measures in a real context. The results of the validation phase of the methodology and the results of the different phases of zone classification underline the strength of the choices made to represent the quality of public transport services and the GINI index approach. Specifically, taking into account the results by the point of view of equity, the GINI index shows a changes of about 7% that is a promising result considering the few zones selected for the identification of public transport needs.

title: Assessing the accessibility and equity of the urban public transport services
abstract: So far, the fair distribution (equity) of public transport service has barely/not been considered when appraising new PT lines, although a more equitable system could lead to higher (socio economic) benefits. The reason is that there is little guidance in the measurement of accessibility and the measurement and assessment of the equity of it. Equity is not the same as equality since equity of accessibility is based on the PT demand. In this thesis presentation multiple methods are presented to show the impacts on the accessibility and the equity in the city of Utrecht after implementing the Uithoflijn leading to conclusions about the usefulness of these methods.

title: Diagnostic of the Balance and Equity of Public Transport for Tourists and Inhabitants
abstract: The significant development of tourism as an economic activity in some cities has led to the need to integrate potential demand for public transport generated by tourists into planning decisions. Public transportation is considered a critical factor of tourism competitiveness and plays a fundamental role in the promotion and maintenance of a sustainable tourist destination. Ensuring equity of public transport services requires specific methodological tools for diagnosis and optimization. There are few references regarding the need to integrate tourism demand in the planning of public transport of cities or the development of methods and techniques to facilitate this task. A method for evaluating potential public bus transportation demand including both residents and tourists is presented. The method uses geographic information systems and statistics, namely, the Gini coefficient, to diagnose imbalances between supply and demand and the degree of equity in transport services. The city of Palma (Spain) is selected as a case study. The results show a significant imbalance in the public transport of the city. There is a large concentration of tourist facilities in areas where the level of bus service is not sufficient for the demand of the resident population and tourists.

title: Equity analysis in access to Public Transport through a Land Use Transport Interaction Model. Application to Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area Colombia.
abstract: The development of the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area (BMA) under criteria focused on the expansion of residential and commercial sectors without considering transportation has produced a congested network and an increase in illegal mobility. A solution was articulating the city through Metrolinea Integrated Transport System (MITS) that not represents an optimal solution yet. Users prefer long lasting trips by car rather than using public transportation. The absence of methods for assessing transportation deficiency in an agile manner more according to dynamic changes does not allow taking optimal decisions promptly. This research proposes a methodology that fuses a transport model using Visum software and a land use model implemented in the Python language to analyze access to public transportation, i.e. using four integrated sub models: transport, residential location, location of economic activities, and accessibility. Analysis of global equity using social indexes to measure the level of need for service and infrastructure was key to proper territory modeling. Results not only indicate where MITS is inefficient but also were could be useful to assess future behaviour considering socio economic variables, land use, and new infrastructure.