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This paper outlines how key characteristics of the transit network affect social equity and provides insight on how equity concerns can be meaningfully incorporated into transit project analysis. The United States has several legislativelyrequired equity considerations built into project funding and planning, including the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) "New Starts and Small Starts" requirement to double-weight lower-income riders when scoring projects and to consider housing affordability near transit projects, as well as the Civil Rights Act Title IV requirement to consider the impacts of fare or service changes on minority populations. Canada does not have similar federally mandated legal requirements, but social equity is an important consideration for transit network planning regardless, as transit is essential for enabling and improving social equity in metropolitan regions.
Public transit plays an important role in reducing inequality in metropolitan regions. As an alternative to the private automobile, it offers mobility and accessibility to jobs, education, social networks, support services, and commerce for those who don't drive due to the cost or other reasons. Those who don't drive for cost-related or other reasons are more likely to take transit-sometimes being referred to as transit-dependent--in the sense that using a private automobile for trips is not often an option. The relationship works both ways, as transit agencies depend on these core customers for ridership and revenues. Metropolitan regions in general benefit when people take transit, as these trips reduce the negative externalities of automobile dependency, such as congestion and pollution. In the Greater Toronto, Hamilton Area (GTHA) there are several groups who may be particularly impacted by transit network characteristics, as described in Figure 1.
Some of these groups can be spatially located, while others are more dispersed. For example, lower-income populations and ethnic groups are often spatially clustered or segregated. Figure 2 shows the spatial patterns of income in the GTHA region. Through spatially locating these groups, where data is available, transit agencies can work to target elements of the transit network characteristics that can be improved to enhance social equity.
Metrolinx, an agency of the Government of Ontario, Canada, is responsible for improving the coordination and integration of all modes of transportation in the GTHA through the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The achievement of social equity is a...