Investigating the Relationship Between Access to Intercity Bus Transportation and Equity

Abstract

Intercity bus transportation provides essential public transit service, mainly to long-distance passengers and residents of rural areas. Although the intercity bus system can be beneficial to increase equity by providing such services to low-income people from remote rural areas, it suffers from a problem. The problem is that the socio-demographic characteristics of those disadvantaged individuals are still not crystal clear. This study aims to examine the relationship between access to intercity bus transportation and the socio-demographic characteristics of the region. This study addresses these problems through data integration and multiple regression analysis using a combination of socio-demographic variables across the U.S. The results showed that changes in the percentages of households with zero vehicles and households with an income of less than $50,000 are significantly associated with changes in the access to intercity bus transportation, and different levels of income affect access to intercity bus transportation. Among the significant variables in the model, the number of intercity bus stops can be controlled by policymakers to optimize access to intercity bus transportation. The findings demonstrate the importance of public transit for low-income households and imply that increasing bus access could help shift the spatial distribution of poverty and create more equal and inclusive communities.