Investigating Unmet and Difficult Travel in Underserved Communities in California

Weijing Wang, Jesus M. PhD Barajas and Scott J. PhD Hardman

Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series from Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis

Abstract: Residents of disadvantaged, low-income, rural, and tribal communities—collectively referred to as underserved communities—often face transportation barriers resulting from decades of car-oriented planning. This has left lower-cost modes such as public transit, walking, and cycling unsafe or unavailable, resulting in widespread travel difficulties and unmet mobility needs that are challenging to measure. To understand how people are navigating these challenges, we surveyed 2,892 residents from underserved communities in California. Centering the experiences of people often underrepresented in travel behavior surveys, this study provides insights into the main factors linked to difficult or unmet travel, how people adapt to these challenges, and the barriers they face. Our findings provide evidence to inform the design of equitable transportation solutions that can improve mobility and access for California’s Priority Populations—groups that are State priorities for investments in improving health, air quality, and access to economic opportunities.

Keywords: Social; and; Behavioral; Sciences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05-01
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/05m98123.pdf;origin=repeccitec (application/pdf)

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:cdl:itsdav:qt05m98123

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series from Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Lisa Schiff ().