A multi-dimension and high-granularity equity measurement for transportation services through accessibility and reliability

Mengke Ma, Zilin Bian, Jingqin Gao, Hai Yang, Joseph Y.J. Chow and Kaan Ozbay

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2026, vol. 203, issue C

Abstract: Transportation equity research has traditionally emphasized service accessibility and destination reachability while often overlooking the critical aspects of service quality, such as infrequent schedules or overcrowded vehicles. This oversight can lead to a skewed understanding of equity, as high accessibility does not guarantee high-quality service. Addressing this gap, we propose a transportation equity index called the multi-dimensional, high-granularity (MDHG) index. Such an index considers service accessibility and quality alongside population demographics. This approach ensures that areas with high accessibility but low service quality are recognized as inequitable. The MDHG Index addresses service performance by incorporating performance data with temporal variations based on actual trip data, thus offering a more nuanced view of transportation equity that reflects the real-world experiences of service users. Furthermore, to effectively identify and address the needs at the user level, we need to use a highly granular population dataset. Due to the low granularity of census and other open-source datasets, we opted to use a highly granular synthetic dataset. To test out the MDHG Index, we coupled a highly granular synthetic population dataset with data from New York City’s Citi Bike expansion to use as a case study to assess changes in accessibility and service quality before and after the expansion. The MDHG approach effectively identified areas that improved post-expansion and highlighted those requiring further enhancement, thus showing the effectiveness of the index in targeted improvements for transportation equity.

Keywords: Transportation equity; Spatio-temporal analysis; Accessibility; Service reliability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856425003623
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:transa:v:203:y:2026:i:c:s0965856425003623

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
https://shop.elsevie ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2025.104729

Access Statistics for this article

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice is currently edited by John (J.M.) Rose

More articles in Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().