A new report highlights the need to go beyond traditional equity metrics to assess how public transit systems are serving the lowest-income and most disadvantaged riders.
A new report from the Mineta Institute identifies ways to assess transit service equity to help California transit agencies understand their equity challenges and needs.
The report “identifies and evaluates policies and practices associated with equity measurement in public transit from extant academic and professional literature sources.” Using a test case from Santa Cruz, California, the report assesses the need for new equity metrics.
According to the study, “Findings suggest that these traditional Title VI measures do not correlate well with other potential measures of inequity. Hence, transit inequity is a multifaceted problem with several potential different measures, each revealing an aspect of inequity.” Transit agencies should reach beyond the usual measures to “address the specific, context-appropriate equity conditions of the communities they are measuring to ensure fair and equal public transportation for all.”
FULL STORY: Defining and Measuring Equity in Public Transportation
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