A recent report by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) highlights transportation inequities in the greater Chicago area. Big-picture findings support the region’s comprehensive plan, but the near-term recommendations focus on changes in transportation-related fees, fines, and fares—a small but important share of overall transportation costs.
Equity
Room for improvement in assessing equity in regional TIPs
Many Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) have placed a greater emphasis on equity in their regional planning over the past few years, but that emphasis doesn’t always translate to direct changes at the project level. Transportation Research Record examined how well MPOs serving the 40 largest metro areas in the U.S. incorporate equity criteria in project prioritization decisions for their Transportation Improvement Programs (TIPs) and recommend a broader shift in how MPOs approach equity in project prioritization to reframe transportation inequities in terms of injustices.
Providing transit passes to high school students boosts attendance rates, transit ridership
When Minneapolis offered free public transit passes to eligible students, schools saw a reduction in absences. Students who saw the largest impact on their attendance records? Those within a 2 mile walk of the school who were eligible because of their free or reduced lunch status.
Want to reduce car dependency? Increase transit frequency
A new study highlights how increasing bus frequency to low-income neighborhoods can reduce the need to commute by car for those workers.
How to change designs to aid color blind drivers
About 4-5% of the population experiences some level of color blindness. Differing shapes and patterns, in addition to color, can provide better road information to color blind individuals.
Bundling transportation projects can squeeze out smaller firms
Bundling projects can lead to less competition and can squeeze out smaller minority- and women-owned businesses in favor of larger national and international firms.
No car? Accessing the vaccine will be difficult
The inequities felt by communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 are replicated in auto-centric vaccine roll-outs.
MnDOT improves critical pedestrian crossings on reservations
A new HAWK crossing shows how transportation agencies can identify safety improvements through an equity lens.
Driver’s licenses are too often a tool of oppression
License suspensions are often issued for minor offenses, as well as those unrelated to driving, such as failure to pay fines. These suspensions disproportionately impact Black and Latino communities and can be devastating in car-dependent areas.
The Effects of Bus Stops and Brownfields on Economic Mobility
Can urban forms influence the economic mobility of a community? New research finds some correlation between the number of bus stops, brownfields, and and economic mobility in Forsyth County, NC.