Did you know that one in ten Americans uses public transport daily or weekly? Yet, 45% cannot access safe or reliable transport. This has a broader impact than many people think. Swathes of research worldwide point to a clear link between access to public transport and upward mobility.
Upward Mobility and Public Transport
Upward mobility means a person or family can improve their social and economic status over time. This improvement is often measured by increases in income, education, or career opportunities. Good public transportation is closely connected to upward mobility.
Challenges in Accessing Public Transport
As cities’ demographics change, with more low-income people living in exurban areas, the urgency of improving transport links to these areas becomes increasingly apparent. However, the current situation is dire, with half of communities in the US lacking access to public transit.
Access to public transit helps people access education, job opportunities, important resources and services more easily. This leads to better economic and social progress.
Academics Jeroen Bastiaansen and Karen Lucas summarize this in their 2019 paper, Inequality in Mobility.
“The whole public transport system is based on the needs of higher educated groups concentrated in the centers and to the locations they need to go. As soon as you need to get outside of the centers, it is much more difficult and significantly limits social and economic mobility.”
So, what are the key aspects of upward mobility impacted by public transport?
Economic Growth
Access to adequate public transport is necessary for many people to reach jobs, training, or education to improve their financial situation. This not only affects individuals in the present, but also has a profound impact on future generations.
If parents struggle to provide their children with access to decent kindergartens, after-school activities, or leisure facilities; it significantly limits their opportunities in the future. This follows through their education, impacting choices for further education and training.
Creation of job opportunities
Access to public transport increases people’s job opportunities, from attending job interviews and professional training programmes to simply getting to a job quickly and affordably.
In the U.S., there are areas of transport poverty and ‘spatial mismatch’, a term coined by John F Kain in 1968. Kain referred to the impact of White Flight when white people moved out of cities and employment and amenities moved with them, making it harder for low-income communities, left behind in cities, to access them.
People with lower incomes and education do not work a typical 9-5 day and are more likely to be shift or part-time workers, needing mobility either early or late in the day. This is a time of lower ridership, which results in reduced services.
Access to healthcare
Healthy people make for a fitter workforce, whether that is physical or mental health. Whilst there are many other aspects to healthcare in the U.S., simply having public transport available to take you to a doctor or hospital appointment is a massive step towards wider access.
Transportation barriers can directly affect health outcomes by causing missed or delayed healthcare appointments, diagnoses and treatment.. This disproportionately affects lower-income groups. Every year, transportation barriers prevent 3.6 million people in the United States from obtaining medical care.
Raising up young people
Education is the key to raising young people to be more socially mobile. Research has found that students who travel longer to school have less sleep and reduced opportunities to exercise, leading to health issues.
And it is not just getting to school—that is the basics. Access to the vast resources in public libraries, community centers, sports clubs, and part-time jobs widens a young person’s prospects.
Times they are a-changin’: Positive Moves by Transit Agencies
It is heartening to see that transit agencies are already making moves to address this. In a recent interview with Kuba, Carl Sedoryk, CEO of Monterey-Salinas Transit, espoused his agency’s work in this area. (Read more from Carl here.)
“We’ve changed our network to focus on the communities that really need our services to get to work, school, and medical appointments and who might not ultimately be able to do that. A recent survey showed that over 80% of MST passengers ride the bus because they do not have a car or cannot drive.In Monterey County, these are very low-income people who are doing service work, farm workers, retail workers, full-time students, retirees, and disabled persons on fixed incomes who are dependent on our services.”
Likewise, Dallas Area Rapid Transit recognizes the issue. Maxime Paul from DART said, “The majority of people who ride public transit are socio-economically disadvantaged. Some people are generally marginalized, and we want everybody to get around.
“40% of our ridership depends on us for their daily transportation needs; many people with access to private cars underestimate the profound impact of public transit on the ability of others to carry out essential tasks such as grocery shopping, visiting the doctor, or attending school.”
As we progress, policymakers, urban planners, and transit agencies must prioritize improving public transportation access for all communities, especially those currently underserved. By addressing transportation barriers, we can help foster economic growth, create more job opportunities, improve access to education and healthcare, and ultimately pave the way for a more equitable and inclusive society.
