01589040

Component

Low-wage workers have a pressing need for adequate and affordable transportation services. However, the growing polycentricity of North American metropolises means transit providers face the difficult task of serving ever more dispersed employment centers. Deciding where limited project resources would provide the most benefit for disadvantaged populations should be a persistent concern for transit planners and elected officials. The purpose of this research is to determine where low-wage employment zones are, where different types of low-wage jobs concentrate, and determine if job type and location have an effect on transit ridership for low-wage workers. The authors use a previously proposed method to identify low-wage employment zones in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area, Canada and measure job type concentration using a gravity approach. They then test to see if job type concentration and employment centres relate to ridership, while controlling for other factors that influence mode share. Their results indicate significant differences in transit-use for different occupations. These results can help guide more transit investment and research by tackling specific occupation’s travel needs.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADD20 Standing Committee on Social and Economic Factors of Transportation.

01584066

16-2061

English

23p

2016

Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Equity; Jobs; Location; Low income groups; Public transit; Transportation disadvantaged persons; Travel behavior; Wages; Work trips

Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA)

Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I10: Economics and Administration

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2016 Paper #16-2061

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 12 2016 4:54PM