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1. INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT
Research Problem Statement
In 1956, the Interstate Highway Act was passed. This law was designed to
provide the nation with a modern and effective highway system. At the time of the
law's passage, few could envision the dramatic impact that the highway system
would have on the economic and social structure of the American society.
Development has followed the highway system because of its easy access, and many
businesses and essential services have relocated from the inner cities to the
outlying suburbs. This migration has included employment, health care,
educational institutions, shopping, and social services. Despite the broad
availability of the automobile, considerable segments of the population do not have
access to the highway network because they do not own a car. These segments of
the population, which include the nation's youth, the elderly, and low-income
groups, remain dependent on public transportation systems. However, public
transportation systems have not kept pace with changing land use patterns and, as
a result, many transit-dependent users now find fewer essential destinations
available to them.
This lack of personal mobility has economic, social, and human costs, such as
higher unemployment, reduced tax revenue, greater welfare and medical costs, and
limited social potential. There is a need to define and measure the economic, social,
and human costs of personal immobility and to identify public transportation
services that will help reduce such costs. For the purposes of this project, the public
transportation system is broadly defined to include publicly operated rail, bus, and
light rail systems; school bus systems, social service agency transportation;
paratransit; jitneys; private bus systems; and taxicabs. Many of these transportation
services have specific trip purposes, and eligibility is sometimes limited to specific
groups. However, some communities have effectively used various combinations of
transportation services to reduce personal immobility.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this research are:
to develop a methodology for economic analysis that will assist regions to
estimate the economic, social and human costs of personal immobility;
and
to identify or develop public transportation practices to reduce such costs.
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The products developed as a result of this research will assist decision
makers and transportation-service providers in using their services more effectively
to address the issue of personal immobility.
ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT
In adclition to the Summary and this Introduction, the report includes five
additional chapters, the Endnotes, and two Appendices.
Chapter 2: Immobility Issues
This chapter discusses who the transportation disadvantaged are, key
barriers to improving mobility, and six significant public policy efforts that have
been used to address the barriers to mobility: basic transit services; reverse
commute services, demand responsive services, fare subsidy programs, livable
communities, and social services coordination.
Chapter 3: KeY Research Finclings
Eight key findings are described, based on the case studies and compendium
resulting from this research. The first finding is that retaining basic public
transportation services is critical to improving the mobility of the transportation
disadvantaged. Others describe how transportation practices can be both simple
ideas and programs that are also economically beneficial. Successful practices
develop partnerships, blend resources, bundle services, plan regionally, and assist
in economic development.
Chapter 4: Guide for Economic Analysis of Transit Practices
This chapter explains the guiding principles and procedures that were used
in conducting economic analyses of the consequences of immobility. Drawing on the
case studies, the guide describes five recommended steps for economic analysis: (~)
Describe project characteristics and costs; (2) Select economic study features,
update cost factors; (3) Determine project patronage, identify mobility benefits; (3)
(4) Estimate efficiency benefits of project; and (6) Calculate and interpret economic
· ~
nc Ices.
Chapter 5: Compendium
Examples of operational and community-based practices to address
immobility are briefly presented to complement the in-depth case studies. The
i_ ~ . . . a, - ~ ~ . ~ .
i` ~
ompencllum contains o~ actcl~onal practices from urban, suburban and rural
settings around the country. The Compendium is divided into sections dealing with
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Access to Jobs, Filling Mobility Gaps, Coordination with Health and Human
Services, Elderly Services, Youth Services, Transit Oriented Development, and
Vehicle Programs.
Chapter 6: Implementation and Dissemination Plans
The implementation plan builds on the key findings in Chapter 2 and adds a
Checklist for Success. The chapter describes what an organization can do within its
own cultural environment by adopting strategies necessary to replicate the
successful projects studied during this research. A dissemination plan outlines
audiences for this research and mechanisms to reach these audiences, including
mass media distribution, traditional methods, and suggested additional products as
outgrowths of the research.
Appendix A: Case Studies
In-depth documentation of 11 case studies conducted in six regions of the
country is presented in Appendix A. Case studies describe one practice in a suburb
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; two in rural South Carolina; one in rural Missouri;
one in Miami, Florida; three in Los Angeles, California; and three in Oakland,
California and its suburbs.
Appendix B: Literature Search: Who Are the Transportation Disadvantaged
This chapter elaborates on the travel and demographic characteristics of the
transportation disadvantaged described in Chapter 2.
Appendix C: Glossary of Terms
This appendix defines the key terms utilized in this research.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
personal immobility
