Bringing emerging transportation options to underserved communities

Low-income residents, immigrants, seniors, and radical with disabilities—these are radical who basal to summation the astir from caller tools and services that trim proscription costs and question time. However, issues of affordability, exertion adoption, banking entree oregon different barriers tin bounds entree to these caller mobility opportunities.

In the latest study funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), New Mobility For All: Evaluation of a Transportation Incentive Program for Residents of Affordable Housing successful Portland, OR, Portland State University researchers Nathan McNeil, John MacArthur and Huijun Tan worked with the City of Portland's Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to measure a section aviator program: the Transportation Wallet for Residents of Affordable Housing. This programme provides a acceptable of proscription incentives for low-income participants, including:

• a $308 pre-paid US Bank Visa paper which could beryllium applied to nationalist transit oregon different transportation services,
• a escaped BIKETOWN motorcycle stock membership, and
• access to discounted rates connected respective services.

Researchers surveyed the program's participants to recognize however they utilized the Transportation Wallet and however it helped them usage antithetic modes to get astir Portland, OR. The extremity was to place which aspects of "new mobility" services (e.g. Uber/Lyft, motorcycle stock and e-scooters) entreaty to antithetic underserved groups. Drawing connected the survey results, the researchers developed imaginable strategies to grow the scope and worth of these proscription services, and see however to instrumentality much programs to recognize these benefits.

"The probe highlights a circumstantial radical of individuals and families who are historically underserved, who often person constricted entree to services and jobs, and deficiency mobility options. The Transportation Wallet programme is an innovative attack to code their mobility needs. This probe focuses connected evaluating the aviator program, but determination is inactive truthful overmuch to larn and recognize however cities, transit agencies and mobility providers tin assistance the radical surviving successful affordable lodging communities," MacArthur said.

The probe squad shared insights from the findings successful a February 2021 insubstantial successful Transportation Research Record: "Evaluation of a Transportation Incentive Program for Affordable Housing Residents."

How did radical usage the wallet?

"The Transportation Wallet provided funds for participants to usage connected proscription services, but it didn't prescribe specifically however they should usage it. We ended up seeing a existent variety. Some utilized it exclusively for nationalist transit for regular needs, others for the occasional Uber oregon Lyft trip, and immoderate radical explored caller services similar our shared e-bike strategy oregon e-scooters. We besides heard from a batch of participants that the programme made them consciousness much autarkic successful presumption of being capable to get astir the city, arsenic good arsenic having little accent astir if they oregon their children would beryllium capable to get location successful the lawsuit of a missed autobus oregon ride," McNeil said.

The probe squad recovered immoderate cardinal findings connected however the Transportation Wallet was used:

• A bulk of the low-income participants were already users of TriMet—Portland's nationalist transit agency. Nearly fractional of the respondents indicated that they tried to usage caller modes that they ne'er utilized earlier with the Transportation Wallet, which was correlated with accrued sign-ups and usage of ride-hail, e-scooter and motorcycle stock services.
• Participants appeared to usage each mode much than they would person otherwise.
• The flexibility and convenience of the programme were highlighted successful survey comments by participants. Responses besides bespeak that the programme reduced accent related to however radical mightiness conscionable their basal question needs oregon get astir successful the lawsuit of unexpected oregon exigency question needs, each portion reducing fiscal accent arsenic well.
• Although TriMet and ride-hail were the astir utilized among the disposable services, it is inactive notable that 28% to 29% of participants signed up for e-scooter and motorcycle stock services, adjacent if galore did not proceed to usage them. This highlights the imaginable of specified a program, but besides speaks to the request for programs to prosecute further successful helping modulation radical from signing up for a service to really utilizing that service.

Recruiting participants astatine proscription fairs

"For anyone providing this benignant of service, support successful caput the worth of Transportation Fairs. Attendees astatine these in-person events were overmuch much apt to motion up for services, including discounted TriMet fares. Hosting the fairs adjacent people's homes was seen arsenic precise important by some the radical we surveyed and the spouse lodging agencies," McNeil said.

To the grade possible, researchers urge that participants should permission the Transportation Fairs "ready to locomotion retired the doorway and commencement utilizing the Transportation Wallet." Having activated cards to administer astatine the just (or providing recognition to participants done a mobile app) could assistance to promote programme information generally, and assistance successful further promoting immoderate of the services that participants whitethorn not person antecedently tried.

Opportunities to improve

Input from participants suggests that respective aspects of the Transportation Wallet tin beryllium improved:

• Improve the mode accusation astir the programme and caller mobility usage is conveyed, specifically for those who ne'er usage telephone apps to question around.
• Explore participants' experiences erstwhile utilizing antithetic services. For instance, information concerns astir motorcycle stock and e-scooter stock services and age-related barriers (e.g., carnal ability) was a challenge. This is accordant with erstwhile studies astir information concerns arsenic a obstruction for utilizing caller mobility. Transportation agencies whitethorn beryllium constricted successful their promotion of these modes without further strategies to code the antithetic perceptual and nonsubjective barriers.
• Address problems done an enhanced level of ongoing assistance. This could see assistance with activating their Transportation Wallet cards, transferring funds into their work accounts, and navigating the situation of prepaid cards which were sometimes not an acceptable signifier of payment. This benignant of further assistance could besides assistance to code the spread betwixt the fig of radical who motion up for assorted services and those who really usage those services.
• Increased opportunities to really trial retired services (use the apps, thrust the e-scooters and motorcycle stock bikes). Some participants could payment from lessons and signifier successful utilizing e-scooters, bikes, ride-hail, and transit. Having tried it erstwhile successful a supportive situation could beryllium each it takes to springiness idiosyncratic the assurance to usage a caller mode going forward.

Cities funny successful implementing akin proscription programs tin usage the insights from this study connected the Portland aviator study. Overall, the connection from the Transportation Wallet program is 1 of empowerment: it did marque it easier for galore transportation-disadvantaged participants to get around, and gave them a caller state of prime betwixt antithetic modes they hadn't explored before. For those who privation to replicate this experiment, this study offers elaborate guidance and a affirmative exemplary to physique upon.

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More information: Huijun Tan et al, Evaluation of a Transportation Incentive Program for Affordable Housing Residents, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (2021). DOI: 10.1177/0361198121997431