https://lsj8687.github.io/transit-equity/
The current public transit system in Atlanta has been significantly underutilized primarily due to its low accessibility – a large proportion of the population has difficulties approaching the transit hubs. ODMTS, an innovative transit system that is now in the pilot phase, is designed to connect residents in every corner of Atlanta to high-frequency rail/bus networks by serving their first/last miles via on-demand shuttles, thereby contributing to improving both the transit accessibility and transit equity in Atlanta area.
This study explores the impact of the ODMTS on transit equity/equality by comparing it with the conventional public transit system. First, equity recognizes that each group of people has different circumstances/demands and allocates the resources and opportunities accordingly. We measured transit (in)equity by comparing the supply (i.e., transit accessibility) and demand (i.e., socio-economic factors) of transit services at the neighborhood level. Second, equality means each group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Transit (in)equality is measured by the Gini index and Lorenz curve which capture how far the distribution is from equality.
The analyses showed that people with high transit demand are benefiting more from the current transit system than people with low transit demand; however, if it develops into the ODMTS that serves every corner of the city, the improvement in accessibility for the people with high transit demand is not as great as for other population groups. One reason might be that, although people with high transit demand live close to the transit network, they do not necessarily live close to their destinations. Thus, relieving the transit inequity is not just about transit services but also about planning/land-use policies that help residents in underserved neighborhoods not travel long distances to get to their destinations. In addition, while the accessibility in the current transit system is considerably affected by the proximity to the transit network of a neighborhood, it is not as crucial in the ODMTS as it is in the current transit system because the on-demand shuttles solve the first/last mile problem. That is, the ODMTS can significantly decrease the disparity in transit service between neighborhoods close to transit hubs and the ones that are far.