Transportation Equity

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:...

Bike lending offers a service that enables individuals to borrow bicycles for short-term use (i.e., ranging from 2 hours to 36 months), typically from designated locations within cities, campuses, or communities. Unlike bikesharing systems that typically rely on automated kiosks and/or undocked and free-floating devices for public access, bike lending involves a managed program with staff, similar to a library model. These programs can be administered by community organizations, bike shops, public libraries, and other local entities. They are typically community- or membership-based, with...

Shared mobility—the shared use of a motor vehicle, bicycle, or other low-speed transportation mode that allows users to obtain short-term access to transportation on an as-needed basis—has the potential to help address some transportation equity challenges. In an effort to categorize the myriad of transportation equity barriers facing transportation system users, this primer proposes a ‘STEPS to Transportation Equity’ framework including: Spatial, Temporal, Economic, Physiological, and Social barriers. For each barrier category, shared mobility opportunities and challenges are explored...

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...