Despite efforts to close the gender gap in many aspects of life, there are still some industries and activities where the gap hasn’t even been identified properly. One such example is mobility and public transportation. The idea that men and women have different travel behaviors is not new, but has not been given the attention it deserves. In a recent study, LA Metro staff surveyed 2,600 county residents, oversampling women, to understand trends in gender-based travel patterns. The staff found that the metro system does not serve men and women equally and the latter are always disproportionately burdened by costs and safety risks.
Multimodal
TRB provides playbook to TNC-transit partnerships
Transit agencies have increasingly partnered with transportation network companies, such as Uber and Lyft, to supplement fixed-route services. TNCs are used to extend service to less-dense areas of a community, provide first- and last-mile connections, operate on weekends or evenings, and for paratransit services. Until now, transit agencies have not had guidelines for the best way to set up these partnerships. A new TRB publication provides this guidance while outlining options based on the goals of both TNCs and transit agencies.
Does active transportation add to overall physical activity, or substitute for other exercise?
New research investigates whether people who spend more time walking and biking daily to work and errands spend less time exercising overall. The study findings indicate the opposite—the likelihood of recreational exercise is actually higher, rather than lower, for people participating in active travel. In other words, active travel adds to overall daily physical activity, rather than substituting for other exercise.
It’s not distracted walking that is killing NYC pedestrians
“[NYC]DOT found little concrete evidence that device-induced distracted walking contributes significantly to pedestrian fatalities and injuries.” So concludes a recent report examining whether device-distracted walkers are killing themselves by stepping out in front of motor vehicles. It’s dangerous driver behavior—speeding and failure to yield—that is killing pedestrians.
People weigh risk versus convenience in whether to use pedestrian bridges
Pedestrian bridges may help keep people away from heavy traffic, but only if people are willing to use them. And that often isn’t the case, according to a new study in Accident Analysis & Prevention. People will cross at street level to avoid tall or narrow, constrained bridges, according to the study, and they usually take extra precautions when crossing at street level.
Transit-oriented development, VMT, and induced gentrification
Many cities are pursuing transit-oriented development as a strategy to decrease regional vehicle miles traveled. But as TOD has become popular with higher-income residents, low-income residents can be pushed out, complicating that goal. A recent study in California looked at travel patterns of both the new residents of transit-oriented neighborhoods, as well as the households displaced due to gentrification.
Growth near transit is key to connecting smaller cities, SSTI finds
A new study by SSTI and the Traffic Operations and Safety Lab at UW-Madison provides a partial roadmap to the future for transit in smaller cities. The study gave Eau Claire, Wisconsin—a city nearing 70,000 people—a look into emerging transit technologies and insight on their residents’ perspectives toward transit. SSTI also laid out a dozen future scenarios, evaluating each one using accessibility metrics.
PennDOT CEO emphasizes community engagement, active transportation
Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Transportation wants more diversity in decision making; more equal concern for people walking, biking and driving; and more early communication with communities about PennDOT projects. These were the themes of an interview with Leslie Richards published last month in Governing.
AAA: Red light running is killing us
The AAA Foundation reports that fatalities due to red light running is at a 10-year high, and more than half of the deaths were outside the offending car, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and those in other cars.
Connectivity is good for walkability, but social factors also matter
Most efforts to increase bike and walk accessibility focus on physical access. But the built environment is not the full story. A new study finds that certain attributes of the social environment also greatly affect the perception of walkability, especially among people of color.