Transportation Equity

Quantifying Racial Inequality in Transit Access Across New York City

Zhang, Yunke
Xu, Fengli
Talen, Emily
Marta Gonzalez
Li, Yong
2026

Urban transit networks are crucial for sustainable cities, yet their uneven distribution often results in unequal access to urban resources. Prior studies primarily focused on accessibility within transit networks while overlooking its implications for residents’ behaviors and the historical and political roots of inequality. Using door-to-door transit information and over 66 million mobility records, we examine racial disparities in New York City’s transit accessibility and their impact on mobility behaviors. We find that ethnic minorities have 4.9% lower neighborhood accessibility, 15.7...

Untapped Opportunities: Assessment of Organizational Strategies to Improve Border Coordination in California at the U.S. and Mexico Border; Final Report for California Integrated Border Approach Strategy, Phase 2

Karen Frick
Elizabeth Deakin
Jan Whittington
Karl Anderson
Eleanor Leshner
Mark Garrett
2017

In 2013, The California Department of Transportation-District 11 (Caltrans) launched the California Integrated Border Approach Strategy (CA-IBAS) in response to a need for a better-integrated border transportation system that reduces impacts on border communities. Work was conducted in two phases to identify ways to better address regional mobility needs and the traveler experience in California’s communities along the California-Mexico border. During Phase 1, led by METRANS, the team conducted a preliminary assessment of key institutional and policy issues at CaliforniaMexico land POEs,...

The Impact of the Sharing Economy on Latent Individual Modal Preference

Maitagorri Helene Schade
Elizabeth Deakin
Robert Cervero
Joan Walker
2017

Mobility patterns in our cities are changing with the onset of shared mobility services. However, publicly available information on the use of shared mobility services is lagging behind. This study set out to fill this data gap by gathering web-based travel diary survey from carsharing and Transportation Network Company (TNC) users in the San Francisco Bay Area. Respondents were screened to be regular users of shared mobility services. The shared use reported in our sample was primarily car sharing and TNC, with bike sharing not being reported enough to be studied here. Our analysis drew...

Reducing Gender-Based Violence in Public Transportation: Strategy Design for Mexico City, Mexico

Aldo Tudela Rivadeneyra
Abel Lopez Dodero
Shomik Raj Mehndiratta
Bianca Bianchi Alves
Elizabeth Deakin
2015

Gender-based violence on public transportation in Mexico City, Mexico, is a growing concern. Current efforts to counteract the violence have focused on transit vehicles for exclusive use by women and children and campaigns to promote the report of offenses. To characterize the problem, this study conducted a transit user survey, workshops with transit users, interviews with operators, and interviews with experts in the field. The study found that, even though transit users believed that the gender-exclusive transport service reduced problematic encounters, they did not view the service as...

Analyzing Equity Impacts of Transit Fare Changes: Case Study of Alameda–Contra Costa Transit, California

Cornelius Nuworsoo
Aaron Golub
Elizabeth Deakin
2009

Many public transit agencies consider increasing fares when faced with budget shortfalls. This paper analyzes the Alameda–Contra Costa (AC) Transit District's five alternative fare proposals introduced for public discussion in March 2005. The proposals combined fare hikes, base fare reductions, eliminations of free transfers, and discontinuation of periodic passes. Using the agency's 2002 on-board survey data, the study assessed the impacts of individual fare proposals on different subsets of riders and evaluated if they were equitable; and estimated potential fare revenues, using...

Equity Impacts of Transit Fare Proposals: A Case Study of AC Transit

Cornelius Nuworsoo
Elizabeth Deakin
Aaron Golub
2008

Faced with budget shortfalls, Oakland’s AC Transit proposed five alternative fare structures combining base fare hikes or reductions, eliminating free transfers, and discontinuing passes. Using onboard survey data, we analyzed impacts of proposals on groups of riders, evaluated equity impacts, and estimated potential fare revenues. Policies that eliminated passes or transfers produced dramatically unequal impacts on lower income riders, youth, and minorities. Flat fares were least equitable even with base fare reductions because less affluent riders made more frequent trips and transfers...

Analyzing the Equity Impacts of Transit Fare Changes: A Case Study of AC Transit

Cornelius Nuworsoo
Elizabeth Deakin
2006

Many transit agencies, faced with budget shortfalls, must consider increasing fares. In this paper we analyze the case of the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit). In March 2005, AC Transit put forth five alternative fare proposals for public discussion. The proposed fare structures included combinations of fare hikes, base fare reductions, eliminations of free transfers, and discontinuation of periodic passes. Using data from the agency’s 2002 on-board survey, we assessed the impacts of the various fare proposals on different subsets of riders and evaluated the equity of...

Advancing Air Mobility: Considering Equity in Emerging Transport Systems

Cohen, Adam
Susan Shaheen
2026

The Research Handbook on Air Transport Management brings together leading academic researchers from around the world to reflect on and synthesise the state of the art in their respective subject specialisms. In so doing, the Handbook demonstrates the depth and diversity of research into various facets of flight, and identifies areas requiring future work.

Navigating Uncertainty in Advanced Air Mobility: Scenario Planning for Policy Pathways at San Francisco International Airport

Susan Shaheen
Cohen, Adam
Wolfe, Brooke
2026

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) includes innovative aviation technologies and services that could alter how people and goods are transported. However, future AAM growth and potential regional integration are uncertain and influenced by a range of factors. In this paper, we report findings from expert interviews (n = 35) and a scenario planning workshop (n = 32 stakeholders), conducted between August 2024 and July 2025, to explore potential alternative futures for AAM at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and the greater San Francisco Bay Area. We applied a two-axis framework:...

Employment Diversification and Urban Mobility Disparities: A Multi-scale Analysis of U.S. Core-Based Statistical Areas

Wu, Zeyu
Marta Gonzalez
2026

The Economic Complexity Index (ECI), a metric traditionally utilized in international trade to correlate high complexity with lower income inequality, is evaluated here at the subnational level to determine if this relationship persists across diverse urban scales. By adapting the ECI to employment distributions across 121 Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) in five U.S. states—California, New York, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Mississippi—this study integrates Replica mobility data with American Community Survey socioeconomic indicators. The analysis reveals a significant reversal of...