The impact of transit investment on the access to economic opportunities and income inequality is an important question for researchers, transportation planners, and policymakers. This research conducts a comprehensive panel data analysis on the association between different types of transit investment (rail and non-rail) and various measures of income inequality for all U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) from 2011 to 2017. We find a significant effect of transit investment on reducing Gini coefficient and poverty rate in large MSAs with over a million population. The impacts seem to be driven mainly by adding new rail systems to traditional non-rail systems.
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