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Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

Authors:

Abstract

There has been significant work on transportation equity over the past 40 years, often prioritizing quantitative and modelling approaches. In contrast, this study draws on research on lived experiences, with a focus on equity-deserving groups. We find that the lived experiences of equity-deserving groups are well documented, in both the academic literature, and in work by community-based organizations, non-profits and advocacy groups. Four cross-cutting themes were observed across equity-deserving groups: poor or absent transit service; unaffordability of transit fares; policing and enforcement; and safety. The research demonstrated that poor and unaffordable transit impacts equity-deserving groups in wide-ranging ways, such as restricting access to healthcare, education and employment; limiting support for people experiencing domestic violence; and, reducing the ability of people to access social services, visit with family and friends, and participate in cultural activities.
PUBLIC TRANSIT AND
EQUITYDESERVING GROUPS
Knowledge Synthesis Project co-funded by the
Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council
and
Infrastructure Canada
UNDERSTANDING LIVED EXPERIENCES
Orly Linovski University of Manitoba
Heather Dorries University of Toronto
Sheryl-Ann Simpson Carleton University
RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
Asya Bidordinova
Dominique Camps
Abigail McLaren
Alexandra Mullen
Steven Nuttall
Sara Wasim
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Madeleine Dafoe
ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS
We would like to acknowledge all the participants in our roundtables who
generously provided feedback on our findings. The opinions expressed in this
report are only the authors.
Mo Amin
(Homeward Trust)
Illiana Anaya
(Saskatoon Open Door Society)
Neil Belanger
(B.C. Aboriginal Network on Disability Society)
Rowan Burdge
(B.C. Poverty Reduction Coalition)
Ashley Cruz
(Homeward Trust)
Ramona Kaptyn
(C.A.R.P.)
Janette McIntosh
(Better Environmentally Sound Transportation)
Daramfon Morgan
(Province of Nova Scotia)
Ketheesakumaran Navaratnam
(TTC Riders)
Brittney Nygaad
(Resource Assistance for Youth)
Molly Peters
(Better Environmentally Sound Transportation)
Beverley Pitman
(United Way BC)
Laura Shantz
(City for All Women Initiative)
Pamela Spurvey
(Homeward Trust)
Candace Thomas
(Homeward Trust)
Sally Thomas
(Healthy Transportation Coalition)
Breda Vosters
(Resource Assistance for Youth)
DATABASE OF WORKS CONSULTED
All works consulted are available in a public database. The database includes
more detail about the geographic location, research method, and focus area of
each work consulted.
Database is available here.
RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
GRAPHIC DESIGN
ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS
DATABASE OF WORKS CONSULTED
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups:
Understanding Lived Experiences
December 2021
Executive Summary
Full Report
1. Background
2. Objectives
3. Methods
4. Knowledge Mobilization
5. Results
A. Cross-Cutting Themes
Cross-Cutting Theme 1: Poor Transit Service
Cross-Cutting Theme 2: Unaordability of Transit Fares
Cross-Cutting Theme 3: Safety
Cross-Cutting Theme 4: Policing and Enforcement
B. Group Specific Analyses
Children and Youth
Indigenous People
LGBTQ2S+ People
Newcomers and Immigrants
People with Disabilities
People Living in Poverty or Experiencing Homelessness
People Living in Rural Areas
Racialized People
Seniors and Elders
Women and Transgender People
C. Feedback from Stakeholder Roundtables
D. Research Strengths and Gaps
5. Implications for Policy and Practice
6. Conclusion
7. References
Appendix A: Classification of Coded Articles
Appendix B: Codebook
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences
Background
Investments in public transit have the potential to increase accessibility, support and connect communities,
and improve employment, health, and social outcomes. However, a lack of attention to the equity impacts
of transportation policies and investments results in the continued marginalization of equity-deserving
groups, and exacerbates structural barriers to full participation in society. ere has been signicant work
on transportation equity over the past 40 years, often prioritizing quantitative and modelling approaches.
In contrast, this study draws on research on
lived experiences
, which incorporates analysis of how aspects
of a person’s social and economic position structures experiences of discrimination or privilege.
Objectives
e objective of this project was to examine existing academic and community-based research on the
transportation barriers that limit full participation in society for equity-deserving groups in Canada and
understand strategies to reduce these barriers. Focusing on lived experiences, this project was guided by the
following research questions:
(1) How does access to public transit impact equity-deserving groups in Canada? How do
experiences vary between equity-deserving groups?
(2) What are the leading practices, policies and strategies for supporting the needs of equity-
deserving groups?
(3) How can public transit investments better support equity-deserving groups?
Results
e lived experiences of equity-deserving groups are well documented, in both the academic literature, and
in work by community-based organizations, non-prots and advocacy groups. Transportation was not the
primary focus of much of the research surveyed but identied as a barrier in diverse elds. Overwhelmingly,
the evidence points to signicant disadvantages for people dependent on public transit or without access to
a private vehicle.
We identied four cross-cutting themes that were observed across equity-deserving groups: poor or
absent transit service; unaordability of transit fares; policing and enforcement; and safety. e impact of
these issues – as well as others specic to dierent groups – is wide-ranging and signicant e research
demonstrated that poor and unaordable transit impacts equity-deserving groups in many ways, such
as restricting access to healthcare, education and employment; limiting support for people experiencing
domestic violence; and, reducing the ability of people to access social services, visit with family and friends,
and participate in cultural activities.
Fundamentally, the ability to access public transit with dignity remains out of reach for many. Many
members of equity-deserving groups still cannot easily access transit services in ways that fully meets
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences
their needs without fear of harassment or harm. In this way, members of these groups are excluded from the
social, economic, and health benets that are available to those not dependent on public transit. We found
a gap in that much of the literature is characterized by its focus on documenting the challenges faced by
equity-deserving groups, with less focus on identifying the “desires” of communities or the strength-based
approaches that communities may be engaging in to solve problems. Notably, we found little research on the
evaluation of
implemented policy
programs aimed at reducing disparities and barriers for equity-deserving
groups.
Key Messages
Systemic discrimination against equity-deserving groups – evidenced by the experiences of those that are
reliant on public transit – points to an urgent need to address these issues. ere are several implications for
policy-makers:
1. Address the misalignment between funding programs and community needs
2. Require an assessment of equity impacts in infrastructure funding
3. Explore programs to reduce or eliminate transit fares
4. Create a dedicated funding stream to redress systemic inequities
5. Provide guidance for transit service providers on integrating equity-based demographic data
6. Identify areas that require co-ordination with other agencies
Methodology
is research used a qualitative research synthesis approach to systematically analyze the lived experiences
of equity-deserving groups in using public transit. We drew on four types of sources: academic, peer-reviewed
literature; research from community-based organizations; policy or technical reports; and media reports. e
inclusion criteria resulted in sources that focused on the lived experiences of equity-deserving groups; was
completed between 2010 – present; and prioritized research from Canada.
Of 293 sources initially identied, 175 (60%) met the inclusion criteria and were coded and analyzed. About 80%
of the literature focused on Canadian communities, and was fairly evenly distributed between equity-deserving
groups. Where there were signicant gaps in the Canadian literature, we drew on international sources. All articles
were coded using qualitative research software, based upon pre-existing themes derived from the literature on
transportation equity. Analysis focused on (1) barriers in accessing transit, and (2) the impacts of poor transit
access.
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences
Background
Investments in public transit have the potential to increase accessibility, support and connect communities,
and improve employment, health and social outcomes (e.g. Markovich and Lucas 2011). However, a lack
of attention to the equity impacts of transportation policies and investments results in the continued
marginalization of equity-deserving groups, and exacerbates structural barriers to full participation in society.
Given the importance of addressing social equity objectives, this knowledge synthesis project examined the
lived experiences of equity-deserving groups in Canada to better understand how transportation policies,
funding and implementation can be more equitable.
ere has been signicant work on transportation equity over the past 40 years, often prioritizing
quantitative and modelling approaches. While these types of assessments are important, they are often
projections of potential barriers (such as the number of jobs accessible within a certain time frame),
rather than actual experiences (Jones and Lucas 2012). In contrast, scholars have noted that it is critical
to integrate dierent types of knowledge and privilege expertise from dierent sectors and communities
to move towards more equitable outcomes (Lowe 2020; Schwanen 2018). is study is framed through the
lens of lived experiences, which incorporates an analysis of how aspects of a person’s social and economic
position structures experiences of discrimination or privilege. Critically, an approach that emphasizes lived
experience also highlights how structural racism and discrimination inuence opportunities and barriers to
public transit, and shapes the extent to which members of dierent communities can access public transit
with dignity.
Objectives
e objective of this project was to examine existing academic and community-based research on the
transportation barriers that limit full participation in society for equity-deserving groups in Canada and
understand strategies to reduce these barriers. Equity-deserving groups are communities that face structural
challenges towards equal access, opportunities and resources. Our analysis has focused on racialized people,
Indigenous peoples, LGBTQ2S+ (lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, two-spirit) people, people with disabilities,
people living in poverty or experiencing homelessness, newcomers and immigrants, women and people with
diverse gender identities, children and youth, and seniors and Elders, though this is not exhaustive. Focusing
on lived experiences, this project was guided by the following research questions:
(1) How does access to public transit impact equity-deserving groups in Canada? How do experiences
vary between equity-deserving groups?
(2) What are the leading practices, policies and strategies for supporting the needs of equity-
deserving groups?
(3) How can public transit investments better support equity-deserving groups?
Fundamentally, this research is oriented towards examining how public transit policies and programs can
work towards achieving a more just society.
PUBLIC TRANSIT AND EQUITYDESERVING GROUPS
FULL REPORT
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences
Methods
is research used a qualitative research synthesis approach (Drisko 2020) to systematically analyze the lived
experiences of equity-seeking groups in using public transit. We drew on four types of sources: academic, peer-
reviewed literature; research from community-based organizations; policy or technical reports; and media
reports. e inclusion criteria resulted in sources:
• Focused on experiences of an equity-seeking group
• Based on lived experiences
• Completed between 2010 – present
• Prioritized research from Canada
Search Strategy
Peer-reviewed literature was identied through academic databases (e.g. Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science,
Transport Research International Documentation), using relevant keywords (e.g. “transportation equity”;
“transportation justice”; “transportation barrier”; “public transit safety”; “equity measures”) in combination
with equity-seeking group descriptors (e.g. race, gender identity, disability). To identify community-based
research and grey literature, we undertook a targeted search of organizations serving equity-seeking groups
(e.g. Native Women’s Association of Canada, Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, Canadian Centre for
Policy Alternatives, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, provincial Human Rights Commissions).
For community-based research, we aimed to ensure geographic representation and did additional searches in
areas that were under-represented. Of 293 sources initially identied, 175 (60%) met the inclusion criteria
and were coded and analyzed. About 80% of the literature focused on Canadian communities, and was fairly
evenly distributed between equity-deserving groups (see Appendix A). Where there were signicant gaps in the
Canadian literature, we drew on international sources.
Coding and Analysis
All articles were coded using qualitative research software (Dedoose). Prior to coding, we generated a codebook
based upon pre-existing themes derived from the literature on transportation equity (Hsieh and Shannon,
2005), broadly in the categories of (1) barriers in accessing transit, and (2) the impacts of poor transit access
(see Appendix B). In addition to these two areas, we examined the literature for policy recommendations and
best practices. Two separate calibration tests were done with all coders to ensure consistency in coding, and
the addition of new codes were reviewed by all team members. Given the high number of sources, each was
coded by one coder, but were regularly reviewed in progress by the PIs. Following the coding, we analyzed and
synthesized the resulting codes for each equity-seeking group, as well as policy recommendations. In addition
to the group-based analysis, we also identied cross-cutting themes that were present across multiple groups.
As part of the synthesis process, we conducted roundtables with community-based stakeholders to validate the
ndings (detailed in Knowledge Mobilization section below).
Limitations
ere are several limitations to the research approach used. Importantly, analysis by identity-specic groups limits
the potential for intersectional understandings of experiences. is is addressed in some of the literature and we
sought to address this by identifying cross-cutting themes. It should be noted that the categories are not mutually
exclusive, so articles may refer to multiple equity-seeking groups, or people that identify with multiple groups (for
example, women living in rural areas or Indigenous people with disabilities). Secondly, we were limited to published
research by community-based organizations, which prioritizes organizations with the capacity to produce and
publish research studies and reports. e stakeholder roundtables were used to include other organizations that
work with equity-deserving groups.
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences
Knowledge Mobilization Activities
We conducted roundtables with community-based stakeholders to ensure that our ndings reected the
experiences of organizations that serve equity-deserving groups. We sent invitations to 72 community-based
organizations that serve or work with equity-deserving groups across Canada and were able to conduct roundtable
sessions with 17 participants. e participant organizations were diverse in their focus (such as providing services
for youth experiencing homelessness, refugee settlement, advocacy for people with disabilities, and poverty
reduction coalitions) and represented 6 dierence provinces. At these sessions, we presented our preliminary
ndings, and asked for feedback on (1) if the ndings reect the experiences of communities they work with, (2)
critical areas missing or areas for future research, and (3) suggestions on improving policies, programs or funding
to address the needs of equity-seeking groups. To encourage knowledge dissemination to the broader academic
and professional community, we created a publicly-accessible and searchable database of all the sources included
in this synthesis project (available here). Further research products from this work, including policy briefs and
peer-reviewed articles will be made available at the author’s websites.
Results
Access to transit confers important benets, including access to healthcare, education, and employment, support
for people experiencing domestic violence, the ability to participate in cultural activities, and settlement services
for newcomers and refugees. Although most of the literature we reviewed did not focus exclusively on barriers to
transit, several important barriers emerged in our analysis. We identied four areas that were common across the
literature—including service issues, aordability, safety, and policy— and detailed in the cross-cutting themes
below. ese themes address the barriers that many equity-deserving groups face when it comes to accessing
transit and while using transit. We expand on the specic ways these barriers aect dierent equity-deserving
groups in our group-specic analysis.
Cross-Cutting Themes
Cross-Cutting Theme 1: Poor Transit Service
Problems with transit service were noted across all equity-deserving groups, with transit services being
unavailable (35% of all articles), long travel times to take transit (25%), and unreliable service (17%).
Unavailable service was particularly concerning for people living in rural areas, Indigenous people, and
immigrants and newcomers. Lack of aordable housing was seen as a related aspect of long trip times in some
research, as noted: “since [low-income immigrants] were largely unable to work where they lived or live where
they worked, all had or were commuting long distances” (Premji 2017, 84).
Service Unavailable
Unavailability of transit service was identied across equity-seeking groups in urban (e.g. Amar and
Teelucksingh 2015; Chandran 2017; Hanley et al. 2018), rural (e.g. Birrell 2020; Rural Development Institute
2016), on reserve (Bhawra et al. 2015) and remote (e.g. McIvor and Day 2011) contexts. Lack of transit not
only impacts access to critical services like health care (Woodgate et al. 2017), but also safety and freedom
from violence, particularly for women and LGBTQ2S+ people (Bonnycastle et al. 2019; McIvor and Day 2011;
Canadian Press 2017; Umereweneza et al. 2020).
Lack of transit is a signicant barrier both generally for equity-seeking groups (e.g. Amar and Teelucksingh
2015; Marzoughi 2011) as well as to specic destinations like employment (Hanley et al. 2018; Premji 2017),
health care (Ballantyne et al. 2019; Haworth-Brockman, Bent, and Havelock 2009; Nicholas et al. 2017;
Woodgate et al. 2017), food (Bhawra et al. 2015; Vahabi and Damba 2013), and cultural services (Croxall,
Giord, and Jutai 2020). In some locations, the unavailability of transit is exacerbated by limited housing
“Without a car, her daily journey takes two hours
of commuting using separate routes to access
childcare, then work, and another two hours on the
way back. [She] wants to work. There is no other
way to explain why she commutes four hours on
little more than minimum wage.
(New Brunswick Rural and Urban Transportation
Advisory Committee 2017, 4)
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

options and low salaries, resulted in participants turning down employment opportunities and having
more limited job options (Amar and Teelucksingh 2015; Hanley et al. 2018). Research notes lack of transit
particularly in suburban communities impacting the mobility of teenagers (Marzoughi 2011), immigrants
and elderly immigrants, leading to social isolation (Syed et al. 2017). For those living in rural communities,
lack of transit impacts access to employment and services for refugees (Rural Development Institute 2016)
and seniors (Hansen et al. 2020; Menec et al. 2015; Nova Scotia Department of Seniors 2017), and to cultural
services for Indigenous elders (Croxall, Giord, and Jutai 2020).
Lack of public transit is a signicant factor in the safety of Indigenous women and girls (Bonnycastle et al.
2019; McIvor and Day 2011; Morton 2016). As noted in the wake of the shutdown of the Saskatchewan
Transportation Company, the lack of transportation options in many communities contributes to hitchhiking:
“If you’re poor, you don’t have access to a vehicle, a lot of our people don’t, the only option is to hitchhike and
that’s already happening. You’ll see people hitchhiking on the road now where they probably would have been
taking (the bus)” (Canadian Press 2017).
Long Times to Take Transit
e time required to take transit (including both trip length and transfer times) was a major concern across
all equity-seeking groups. Notably, lengthy trip times were considered a major barrier for teenagers (Li
and Que 2016; Marzoughi 2011), parents with children (Maguire and Winton 2014; McLaren 2015; New
Brunswick Rural and Urban Transportation Advisory Committee 2017), immigrants (Amar and Teelucksingh
2015; Hanley et al. 2018; Kadowaki et al. n.d.), seniors (Kadowaki et al. n.d.; Mah and Mitra 2017) and
racialized people (Amar and Teelucksingh 2015; Government of British Columbia 2018; Hanley et al. 2018).
In several studies, the majority of participants had daily commutes of 3 – 6 hours a day (Hertel, Keil, and
Collens 2016; Premji 2017; Rahder and McLean 2013), with additional time spent travelling between job
locations for itinerant positions such as house cleaners (Premji 2017, 84).
e impacts of long trip times has an impact on access to employment (Hanley et al. 2018; Rahder and McLean
2013), healthcare (Ballantyne et al. 2019; Turin et al. 2020), education (Li, Que, and Power 2017), shopping and
groceries (McLaren 2015; Vahabi and Damba 2013), and other services, leisure activities and visiting friends
and family (Hertel, Keil, and Collens 2016; Kadowaki et al. n.d.; Maguire and Winton 2014). For example,
the time required for transit trips results in unmet healthcare needs (City of Vancouver 2019), such as in this
description by a recent immigrant woman: “Would you go by bus traveling all around the city or standing long
at the bus stop while sick?” (Turin et al. 2020, 7). Similarly for employment, as in this description of travel
for a single mother:
“Without a car, her daily journey takes two hours of commuting using separate
routes to access childcare, then work, and another two hours on the way back. [She] wants to work.
ere is no other way to explain why she commutes four hours on little more than minimum wage”
(New Brunswick Rural and Urban Transportation Advisory Committee 2017, 4). e impact of long commute
times is worsened for those with precarious work situations and variable hours, where employees may have 2 –
3 hour commutes for few hours of work (Premji 2017). Transportation is also a barrier to attending interviews
(Harris 2020; Premji 2017) and job training programs (Rahder and McLean 2013), even when transportation
is provided by employers because of the long times to get to the pick-up points by transit (Hanley et al. 2018).
Wait times for paratransit trips were a signicant challenge for people experiencing mobility limitations (Ballantyne
et al. 2019; Darrah, Magill-Evans, and Galambos 2010; Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants 2012).
For example, in research addressing barriers to attending health care appointments for children with complex
health needs, one mother states:
“When I am supposed to come back home, if I’m supposed to leave
at 3 o’clock and they [paratransit] will tell you, ‘No, we don’t have a ride available until 5:00, 5:30
or 6 o’clock’. So during that time, I have to wait 3 or 4 hours there [hospital] to come back home”
(Ballantyne et al. 2019, 5). e inability to schedule paratransit trips near the start and end of activities results
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

in very long trips, in addition to the length of the time in vehicle.
e stark dierence in travel time between transit and other travel modes, mainly driving, is noted in much of the
research (Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants 2012; Hertel, Keil, and Collens 2016; Li and Que 2016;
McLaren 2015; Tomlinson 2017). As one article points out:
“A bus trip across town can easily take more than
an hour and require several transfers, in a place where virtually nothing is more than a 15-minute
drive away”
(Andrew-Gee 2019). In one instance a participant noted that walking is faster than transit because of
winding routes, which “makes no sense… I think this is a big disadvantage” (Li and Que 2016, 52).
Service is Unreliable
A major concern is the unreliability of transit, including transit not arriving at scheduled times, missed connections,
overcrowded services and infrequent service1 (City of Vancouver 2019; Hertel, Keil, and Collens 2016; Lambert
2018; Li and Que 2016; McLaren 2015; Norgaard 2020; Smirl 2018; Syed et al. 2017). e unreliability of transit
services impacts access to employment, education, childcare and healthcare (Ballantyne et al. 2019; Hanley et
al. 2018; Li, Que, and Power 2017; McLaren 2015; Norgaard 2020). In some areas, unreliable service was tied to
overcrowding, as passengers have to wait for less crowded buses (City of Vancouver 2019), or busses with room
for a wheelchair or stroller (Chandran 2017). Unreliability was noted as a particular issue for women taking their
children to daycare before work (Chandran 2017) or other care-related trips (Ollier 2018), teenagers (Marzoughi
2011) and those working multiple jobs (Premji 2017). Unreliability was also a signicant barrier for those using
paratransit services (Brooks-Cleatora, Giles, and Flaherty 2019), such as last minute cancellations or unexpected
unavailability of rides (Darrah, Magill-Evans, and Galambos 2010). Research notes that services are also poorly
timed for daily or nightly routines (McLaren 2015) or too infrequent to be feasible (Marzoughi 2011).
As one recent immigrant explained, unreliable service combined with very long trips make it dicult to time
trips and get to work on time:
“with all the waiting time, sometimes the streetcars are o the schedule,
and after that I have to go all the way to Kennedy Station, and then take a bus for 50 stops and the
bus comes three times every hour. So, it’s very hard for me to measure all this time… and whether
the bus is there, so that’s why I’m always late for work. Probably I’m going to quit this job, because
of that…”
(Norgaard 2020). Similarly, for a recent migrant: “It takes one hour and a half to arrive to my work
area. I have to take three buses, and one time the metro, and the bus arrives a little late, and then it is far, and
sometimes I arrive late…” (Hanley et al. 2018, 516). ere were similar concerns in access to education, as in
this report on recent immigrant youth: “Going to school was a struggle for more reasons. He had few clothes
to keep warm and there was no direct bus route to school. He usually woke up at 6:00 in the morning in order
to catch the bus at 7:00 so he could be at school before 8:50. e worst times were when the bus passed earlier
than scheduled and he had to wait an extra hour for the next one or when he missed the transfer bus” (Li and
Que 2016, 51).
ese service issues – unreliability, long time for transfers, frequent missed connections – are accompanied by
poor amenities at stops and stations, such as lack of bus shelters or heated shelters (Li and Que 2016; Premji
2017). An issue raised by multiple roundtable participants was the lack of accessible, gender-neutral washrooms
in transit facilities. For many people, including the elderly or those with health issues, the lack of washrooms
makes using transit very challenging if not impossible.
1
Infrequent service is not necessarily associated with unreliability, however the consequences of unreliability – such as
missed connections – are more signicant with infrequent service.
If we don’t have any bus fare, we just
don’t go at all to the food bank.
(McLaren 2015, 27)
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

Cross-Cutting Theme 2: Unaordability of Transit Fares
e most common theme identied across the research was the unaordability of transit fares, which was
noted in 34% of all the articles. While some aspect of unaordability was identied as an issue for every
equity-seeking group studied here, it was identied in 60% of all research focusing on newcomers/immigrants,
and people living in poverty or experiencing homelessness. Although some research identied specic issues
related to aordability, such as the high cost of monthly passes or single fares, or not knowing about reduced
fare programs, the most common codes were related to general unaordability. Issues with accessing digital
fare programs was not cited highly in the literature we studied but was a major theme in the stakeholder
roundtables.
While transit agencies may oer reduced fare monthly passes, these require signicant upfront investment,
which is often not possible for people living in poverty (Chandran 2017; Eaton and Enoch 2020; Smirl 2018;
Tomlinson 2017). Reduced fare passes may also be inaccessible due to the documentation required for some
reduced price passes (Lambert 2018), diculty getting to locations for purchasing passes (Harris 2020), lack
of knowledge about dierent pass options (Ross and Ho 2016), or fear of losing expensive passes (Chandran
2017). Social service agencies may provide free fares or passes, but it may be dicult to access those locations,
require multiple trips to get free tickets, or be intended for only specic trips such as searching for employment
(Scott, Bryant, and Aquanno 2020). Participants in the stakeholder roundtables noted that service agencies
may be limited by their funders in the number or types of transit fares they are able to provide to clients.
To deal with the high-cost of transit, people living in poverty or on xed-incomes often walk long distances
to avoid paying fares, or do not make trips that they otherwise would have if they could aord the cost (City
of Vancouver 2019; Dorman 2016). In areas with multi-zone fares, people on xed-incomes report forgoing
two-zone passes and walking long distances to zone boundaries to aord transit fares (Ross and Ho 2016). e
restrictive nature of transfers, either as time limited or only on certain routes, places unnecessary burdens on
people with xed incomes (Scott, Bryant, and A quanno 2020), including women with caregiving responsibilities
who may need to make multiple stops to pick up children, shop for groceries, and so on (Rahder and McLean
2013), which was also noted in stakeholder roundtables.
Rural residents described similar aordability concerns to urban residents, including the cost of passes (BC
2018; Hanley et al 2018), and trying to balance between the cost of transportation and other rising costs
including housing and food (Nicholas et al 2017; Lambert 2018). Additionally, transportation costs are often
not included in social assistance programs (PEI 2018).
Cross-Cutting Theme 3: Safety
Issues of safety were identied in research addressing a number of equity-seeking groups. While some aspect
of safety was identied as an issue for every equity-seeking group studied here, it was identied in 50% of all
research focusing on LGBTQ2S+ people, and in 25 – 35% of articles focusing on Indigenous people, people
with disabilities, and women and gender diverse people. e areas of safety can be classied into three main
areas: safety while on transit, safety while getting to transit, and safety impacted by a lack of transit, as well as
unspecied concerns about safety and violence.
Safety on Transit
Research participants described safety issues on transit, including harassment from other passengers or transit
sta, feelings of being threatened, and witnessing violence or being subjected to it. Safety issues on transit
were identied by 50% of all articles addressing LGBTQ2S+ people, and over 30% of articles focusing on people
with disabilities, women or other gender identities. As noted by Schwan et al. (2020, 234) the harassment and
assault that women, girls, and gender diverse peoples are more likely to encounter while using public transit
“They began to make a bunch of antagonizing,
racist comments about people being let in, people
who don’t have manners or priorities of people in
Canada. They shouted threats at me and the stroller
and the baby, ‘wait until we get you guys o the
bus’
(Munro 2018)
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

result in “valid fear that can limit women’s freedom of movement”. Female transit users frequently report verbal,
non-verbal and physical sexual harassment (Burns-Pieper 2019; Lenton et al. 1999; Norgaard 2020), feeling
unsafe using transit at night (Whitzman and Perkovic 2010) and at o-peak hours (Yusuf and Shingoose 2013).
Transit facilities were identied as contributing to lack of safety, such as poor lighting (Marzoughi 2011) and
overcrowding (Norgaard 2020). Racialized passengers describe how systemic racism impacts safety on transit,
including racist attacks and grati (CBC News, November 19, and 2015 2015; Khan 2021; Munro 2018). As one
passenger describes:
“ey began to make a bunch of antagonizing, racist comments about people being
let in, people who don’t have manners or priorities of people in Canada. ey shouted threats at me
and the stroller and the baby, ‘wait until we get you guys o the bus’”
(Munro 2018). is is exacerbated by
a lack of intervention from passengers or operators when witnessing racist incidents (Bhuyan and Schmidt 2019)
or targeting transgender or gender non-conforming people (Benner 2016).
Women frequently use avoidance behaviours, such as travelling only during the daytime, avoiding specic
stations or buses, dressing a certain way (Norgaard 2020), travelling to further stops that feel safer (Chandran
2017) or avoiding transit altogether (Ross and Ho 2016). Programs that may aid in safety, such as allowing
people to get o the bus between stops, are often not well-known (Yusuf and Shingoose 2013). Due to the
signicant safety issues on transit, some service organizations to attempt to ll the gaps:
“Often times the
queer/trans communities can be discriminated against in public spaces, on public transportation,
that sort of thing. So in order to safely get someone from point A to point B, we’ll oer them a ride.
(Eaton and Enoch 2020, 7). is was also raised by stakeholder participants, with youth caseworkers noting that
they often drive youth to appointments because of their fear of harassment or violence on transit.
Safety Getting to Transit
Safety concerns also include walking to transit stations or stops (Norgaard 2020; Yusuf and Shingoose 2013).
Immigrant women discuss being fearful walking alone to transit stops at night, especially in more isolated
areas, and in winter when it is darker earlier (Premji 2017). Bus and transit stops are identied as a frequent
place for harassment (Burns-Pieper 2019) and violence (Chandran 2017). Indigenous youth note discomfort
and anxiety walking down streets and waiting at bus stops (Skinner and Masuda 2013).is was also a concern
for youth with intellectual disabilities, as one participant noted that “he would not walk or use transit alone
after dark ‘because it’s not safe waiting for the bus at night around here. Someone could open the door and do
something bad’” (Wilton and Schormans 2019, 445). Safety concerns are also related to poor sidewalk quality
(fall hazards) and lack of snow clearance (Eaton and Enoch 2020; Harris 2020).
Safety Impacted by a Lack of Transit
A key theme, particularly for children and youth, and Indigenous people was that their safety was impacted by
a lack of public transit. is was also the primary safety issue identied by people living in rural communities.
For this theme, we identied three sub-areas: staying in an unsafe place because transit is not available, using
unsafe travel because no transit is available (such as hitchhiking), as well as lack of transit options specically
related to domestic violence.
Lack of transit service has a disproportionate impact on safety for women, particularly for Indigenous women,
and women living in rural or remote communities (Murray, Ferguson, and Letemendia 2010). Indigenous
women report being forced to use taxis because of a lack of transit options, where they were sexually harassed by
drivers (Smirl 2018). Without transit service, women are forced to hitchhike to attend work, school, and health
appointments or to visit their children (Schwan et al. 2020), exposing them to sexual assault, harassment, and
violence (Birrell 2020).
Women and service providers describe the diculties for those facing domestic violence to get to shelters or
other support services (Birrell 2020). Both the availability and cost of transportation is a major barrier for those
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

escaping domestic violence in Northern and isolated communities, with the inability to access crisis centres
(Bonnycastle et al. 2019) resulting in women being less able to leave abusive relationships (Schwan et al. 2020).
e closure of regional bus services, such as the Saskatchewan Transportation Company, has compounded
these issues for women in rural communities: “[Shelter] sta told us that they would have women call and that
they were going to try and make it to the city, and they’d just not show up… So then the sta are wondering if
the woman decided not to leave or if she set out and something bad happened” (Birrell 2020, 4).
Transit Agency Responses to Safety Concerns
While safety is identied as a major concern, transit agencies do not adequately collect or track the most
common types of sexual harassment complaints (inappropriate comments, leering, propositioning) despite
the severity of these incidents and the impact on transit users (Burns-Pieper 2019) or respond appropriately
to racist incidents (Kovac 2021). For example, a woman who was verbally threatened with rape and chased
by two men reported the incident, which was not include in either transit agency or police statistics. As she
stated: “What would have had to happen for this to be taken seriously? Would I have had to have been beaten
up or raped or taken?” (Burns-Pieper 2019). Another transit user felt unsafe at a station and wondered, “Why
do security sta focus on checking tickets instead of making people feel safe?” (Ross and Ho 2016).
Cross-Cutting Theme 4: Policing and Enforcement
e most frequent codes related to the impact of enforcement on transportation were over-ticketing/over-
policing (9% of all articles), followed by fear of police or enforcement ocers (5% of all articles). While the
overall number of articles that address these issues is relatively small, the impacts are disproportionate for
racialized people, those experiencing homelessness or poverty, and youth. Issues with policing, enforcement
or ticketing was identied in 20% of all research focusing on racialized people, and in 12 - 17% of the articles
focusing on people living in poverty or experiencing homelessness, Indigenous people, and children/youth. e
majority of research we found that related to enforcement were news or media reports, rather than academic
sources. ese ndings were reinforced by several participants in the stakeholder roundtables, who noted
that ticketing and incarceration (related to inability to pay transit-related nes) are signicant issues with the
communities they work with.
Over-Ticketing, Over-Policing and Fear of Getting Ticketed
ere are numerous accounts of repeated harassment and violent confrontations by transit ocers (Carter
and Johnson 2021; Howells 2019; Wyton 2019). Racial bias, particularly for Black and Indigenous riders,
gures heavily in accounts of problematic transit enforcement (Aguilar 2020; Andrew-Gee 2019; Howells 2019;
Munro 2018; Spurr 2021; Wyton 2019). As one passenger describes, when he and his girlfriend, who is white,
forgot their transit passes and were stopped by a peace ocer, only he was issued a ticket, while his girlfriend
got a warning: “It’s something that a lot of people who come from the same background, we can laugh it o,
but I think it represents something that’s a bit problematic about how transit enforcement occurs in the city”
(Wyton 2019). Encounters with transit enforcement can be violent, with long-lasting impacts (Aguilar 2020;
Howells 2019). Harassment may be compounded when using certain fare types. Indigenous youth report the
need to regularly prove that they are eligible for a discount pass because they don’t have a visible disability
(St. Denis 2019). In response to racial bias in transit enforcement, one social service provider notes: “It’s
very, very commonly known within Indigenous people... Many of us have stories of negative experiences with
(transit) enforcement” (Wyton 2019).
Impacts of Transit Enforcement
As the Ontario Human Rights Commission notes: “It is the Commission’s position that people should not
have to go to unusual extremes to prove their legitimate right to use public services such as public transit.”
(Ontario Human Rights Commission n.d.). Yet, the repeated targeting of racialized and Indigenous people
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences
“When they can’t pay the ticket, then we’ve
got kids going into court systems dealing with
tickets, so then it creates another problem in
another system… It’s a snowballing eect of
the systems.
(Wyton 2019)
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences
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leads to changes in behaviour and extra-vigilance in an attempt to avoid harassment from transit enforcement
in the future (Howells 2019; Spurr 2021). As noted in a report on racial proling, after being refused entry to
the subway because of a smudged date on his pass, an Aboriginal businessman describes: “Now, as a result of
that I stapled the receipt - or I carry it with me in my wallet until the end of the day. If I am buying a metro
pass, I carry the receipt with me all month, just so that I can pull it out, but I shouldn’t have to do that. And
just the thought of it, just remembering it has made me very angry again, and you know, we are not supposed
to carry our anger like that” (Ontario Human Rights Commission n.d.). Indigenous youth co-researchers
“spoke of key authority gures including police ocers, security and neighbourhood watch personnel, store
managers and owners, and public transportation ocials as psychological constraints on their freedom of
movement” (Skinner and Masuda 2013, 214, emphasis added). e role of transit enforcement in limiting
mobility, particularly for youth that have few alternatives, was noted elsewhere:
“For a lot of these young
people, it’s very hard to get to the places they need to be… and [getting a ticket] really limits their
mobility.
(Wyton 2019).
In addition to avoidance behaviours, interactions with enforcement create “intense humiliation” when people
are treated negatively by transit employees because of their race or appearance (Ontario Human Rights
Commission n.d.) and fear from interactions with transit operators in a position of power (Schwan et al. 2020).
Transgender and gender non-conforming people also describe fear from interactions with transit enforcement
ocers (Benner 2016). As described in a report from the U.S.: “Just seeing the police in a Metro station is like
a psychological attack for a lot of people. It can even be a deterrent from riding” (Bliss 2020). As a result of
these interactions with enforcement ocers, racialized and Indigenous people report avoiding transit, such as
by walking or using other travel modes (Howells 2019).
Financial Impacts and Criminalization
e impact of transit enforcement can be signicant, and transit enforcement can be seen as the
criminalization of poverty (Douglas 2011). Beyond the nancial burden of nes, interactions with the justice
system can have lasting negative impacts. Homeless youth and others that received transit tickets report
not being able to obtain a driver’s license until nes are paid, resulting in further transportation barriers
and debt (McParland 2020; St. Denis 2019). Transit enforcement can also lead to criminalization (Schwan
et al. 2020), as one service agency representative notes:
“When they can’t pay the ticket, then … we’ve
got kids going into court systems dealing with tickets, so then it creates another problem in
another system… It’s a snowballing eect of the systems”
(Wyton 2019).
While we found little discussion on fare evasion in the Canadian context, research in other countries points
out that fare evasion is often due to poverty (Perrotta 2015), transit service issues (i.e. malfunctioning ticket
machines) (Delbosc and Currie 2016), or not understanding the system (Lubitow, Rainer, and Bassett 2017).
For example, one interview participant described the reason for not paying a transit fare: “ere’s been times
that I’ve had to ask him [her child’s father from whom she ed to a domestic violence shelter] for like a $5 or
$10 little advance or whatever… so I can get my child to school. Or sometimes I’ve risked jumping on the back
of the bus… gosh I dread the day I would get caught for that cause it’s so silly, but… I’ve only done it if I’m
trying to get my daughter to school. It’s not like I was just jumping on there for the fun of it.” (Perrotta 2015,
74). Research in some Canadian cities, such as Edmonton, found the vast majority of enforcement tickets are
given for fare evasion rather than other oences such as smoking or harassment (Wyton 2019).
Lack of Agency Response
Similar to reports of safety concerns, there is criticism of how transit agencies respond to charges of over-
policing and racist behaviour by enforcement ocers. As one report notes, even when an ocer was found to
be in violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code, they retained their job, leading the victim to avoid them by
walking to work: “I actually kind of stopped taking the TTC” (Spurr 2021). A further issue is the relationship
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

between enforcement and safety. For example, when a city representative was made aware of disproportionate
ticketing for Indigenous and racialized peoples, he tied it to an increasing priority on system safety: “we’ve
really put in a priority on improving our security on the system… the goals is to get as many people riding transit
as possible” (Wyton 2019), without acknowledging the disproportionate harms associated with enforcement.
Group-Specific Analyses
Children and Youth
e most common codes identied in research about children or youth was lack of fare aordability (42%),
transit service unavailable (42%), stress or anxiety associated with transit (31%), and unreliable service (27%).
Transit service issues gured prominently, including long time to take transit (23%), transit unavailable at
time/day needed (23%), and long wait times for transfers (19%). Some of this literature addresses children or
youth independently (e.g. Li and Que 2016; McParland 2020; Skinner and Masuda 2013) while others include
the impact on caregivers (e.g. Ballantyne et al. 2019; McLaren 2015; 2015).
Aordability
A major concern related to the high cost of public transit (Lambert 2018; Marzoughi 2011), particularly for
low-income families (McLaren 2015), Indigenous youth and mothers (Sakamoto et al. 2008; Skinner and
Masuda 2013; Wyton 2019), youth experiencing homelessness (McParland 2020) and new immigrant families
and youth (Li, Que, and Power 2017; Li and Que 2016; Nicholas et al. 2017). For low income families unable to
aord transit fares, the only alternative is to walk long distances or not having access to vital services including
food (Kerpan, Humbert, and Henry 2015). As a mother of two described:
“if we don’t have any bus fare, we
just don’t go at all to the food bank”
(McLaren 2015, 27). Access to health care for children was impacted
by families not being able to aord the cost of transit (Lubitow, Rainer, and Bassett 2017; McLaren 2015;
Nicholas et al. 2017). is was echoed by health care providers for pediatric patients in newly immigrated
families: “Just this morning, I saw somebody who was asking for bus tickets because they were on social
assistance; it’s really hard to pay the cost of getting here” (Nicholas et al. 2017, 340). In other areas, the cost
of transportation is a major barrier to school attendance, as described by a teacher in an academic bridging
program in Newfoundland:
“[Cost of transit] has been an issue since the beginning of the program.
A Metrobus pass is $45 per month. If a family is not living in our catchment area where they can
access the school bus, then they have to pay $5 per child… Some of these are big families, two or
three students… and the burden of that cost is falling on the families instead of being provided for
them”
(Li, Que, and Power 2017, 1115).
Transit Service Issues
Poor transit service is a major barrier in access for children, youth and families. Parents noted the diculties
in travelling with children on buses, including the irregularity of service, lack of space for strollers or need to
collapse strollers, and poor connections between buses (City of Vancouver 2019, 1; Lambert 2018; Lubitow,
Rainer, and Bassett 2017; McLaren 2015). e diculty of using transit to make multiple stops such as for
errands and family care is a particular concern for women and girls (Lambert 2018). Access to medical care was
identied as a major concern, such as for new immigrants with children requiring medical care (Nicholas et al.
2017) and for post-partum care for First Nations women and children who must leave their home communities
(Lawford, Bourgeault, and Giles 2019). In certain locations, the costs and inconvenience of transit (irregular
service, very long wait times), combined with limited housing choice and centralized programs, resulted in
new immigrant students missing school and not having access to academic bridging programs (Li, Que, and
Power 2017; Li and Que 2016). In other locations, youth identify infrequent service, poor service outside of
the downtown core, long travel times, and long wait times as a barrier to their mobility (Marzoughi 2011).
“Going to school was a struggle for more reasons.
He had few clothes to keep warm and there was no
direct bus route to school. He usually woke up at 6:00
in the morning in order to catch the bus at 7:00 so he
could be at school before 8:50. The worst times were
when the bus passed earlier than scheduled and he
had to wait an extra hour for the next one or when
he missed the transfer bus.
(Li & Que, 2016, p. 51)
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences
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O-peak service issues were noted by teenagers who may be more likely to travel outside of peak service times
(Marzoughi 2011).
Stress and Anxiety Associated with Transit
Stress was associated with taking children with disabilities on transit (City of Vancouver 2019). Youth with
disabilities describe the impact of harassment and discrimination on transit impacting their mental health
and leading to anxiety and fatigue (Wayland et al. 2020). For people travelling with strollers, stressed is by
not being able to get on buses that are too full to accommodate a stroller (Lambert 2018), limited stations
with stroller access (Sakamoto et al. 2008), as well as the response from other passengers, as noted by this
low-income mother: “You get bus rage, you know, when the people are not happy because you’re getting on,
like I have this jogger buggy” (McLaren 2015, 27). Racialized and Indigenous youth describe anxiety and
discomfort walking down streets and standing at bus stops because of the surveillance and policing in their
neighbourhoods (Skinner and Masuda 2013) and being subject to racism, harassment and over-enforcement
(McParland 2020; Wyton 2019). is was reinforced by roundtable participants, who noted that youth are
often harassed by transit ocers, causing them to avoid taking transit.
Indigenous People
Over-ticketing is a Barrier for Indigenous Youth
e barriers of poverty and racialization often work in tandem to decrease access to transportation. For
instance, Indigenous people are targeted for fare inspection and tickets at signicantly higher rates than other
passengers several cities (Spurr 2021). For Indigenous youth, receiving a ticket for fare evasion can often be
their rst introduction to the justice system, ultimately compounding the challenges associated with poverty
(Goodman, Snyder, and Wilson 2018). ese issues are widely known by community-members, as noted by
one transit rider:
“Indigenous people don’t necessarily need another indication or another set of
data to show that they’re being discriminated”
(Spurr 2021).
Lack of Regional Transit is a Critical Barrier for Indigenous women
Much of the literature focuses on the experiences of Indigenous peoples on-reserve or in o-reserve or urban
locations. However, many Indigenous peoples maintain kin and social connections across large territories,
travelling back and forth between reserve and urban communities. Travel from the reserve to urban communities
is also often necessary for accessing health services, educational, or employment opportunities. e lack of
transit between the reserve and urban communities was identied as a barrier that contributed to diculties
in accessing medical care (Lawford, Bourgeault, and Giles 2019); culturally appropriate food options (Cidro et
al. 2015; Sinclaire 1997), and cultural activities (Croxall, Giord, and Jutai 2020). Further, the lack of transit
also made it dicult for women to escape domestic violence (Bonnycastle et al. 2019; Murray, Ferguson, and
Letemendia 2010).
e lack of regional transit service forces many people to hitchhike because no other transit options exist.
Indigenous women are particularly vulnerable to violence while hitchhiking and this vulnerability is increased
in sparsely populated areas, particularly where cell service may be unavailable. Providing adequate and
aordable transit service is vital matter of safety for Indigenous women (Andrew-Gee 2019; Morton 2016;
Palmater 2018; Quinlan 2018).
Indigenous Elders Face Specic Barriers
One study (Croxall et al 2020) discussed the specic challenges faced by Elders requiring accessible
transportation. Accessible transportation was often a barrier to participating in social and cultural activities
for elders. While paratransit is available for medical appointments, it is not always available for trips not
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

deemed urgent. Yet, participation in social and cultural activities is understood as an important factor when
it comes the ability of elders to age well in place (Tonkin et al. 2018).
LGBTQ2S+ People
Only a very small number of articles and reports (7% of total articles) contained information on the experiences
of LGBTQ2S+ people, and an even smaller number focused specically on the experiences of LGBTQ2S+ people
while using transit.
Transit is Essential
As highlighted in the discussion of cross-cutting themes, transit is important in the daily lives of many people,
including LGBTQ2S+ people. Access to transit is necessary to attend school, work, medical appointments, to
complete shopping and other errands, and to participate in social, recreational, and cultural activities (Benner
2016; Government of British Columbia 2018). Lack of access to transit, whether due to service issues or
aordability, can have a signicant impact on the health and wellbeing of LBGTQ2S+ people. For instance,
mental health problems are aggravated when people can’t aord transit to travel to social, cultural, and health
services (Lambert 2018). It was noted that while some social service agencies and government organizations
oer transit fare to attend events such as community consultations, the need for transit fare could be eliminated
by oering more services in the places where people live (Lambert 2018).
Harassment Limits Access to Transit
LGBTQ2S+ frequently experience harassment while using transit, both from other riders and from drivers
(Benner 2016; Carathers et al. 2019; Lubitow et al. 2017; Lubitow, Abelson, and Carpenter 2020; Umereweneza
et al. 2020). As one transit user recounted:
“A white male was being extremely rude and saying very,
very transphobic things straight to my face and I immediately reported him to the bus driver, and
the bus driver looked like, ‘Did he say something wrong?’ … the specic term [the other passenger]
used was ‘Why don’t you tuck it in, there?’ for the record. I’m like, ‘Great, thanks.’ Looked to the
bus driver; and the bus driver … just didn’t understand why that would be so oensive”
( Lubitow
et al. 2017, 15).
Discrimination reduces the ability of LGBTQ2S+ to use transit without physical and/or emotional harm (Benner
2016; Gower et al. 2021). Because of the harassment faced by many LGBTQ2S+ people while using transit,
private transportation is often preferred. For this reason, some organizations serving LGBTQ2S+ clients oer
taxi fares or operate vehicle eets to better serve their clients (Eaton and Enoch 2020). Financial support
for vehicle eets, for instance to transition to electric vehicles, was suggested as one way that organizations
might be supported (Eaton & Enoch, 2020). LGBTQ2S+ transit users have oered suggestions for ways that
harassment might be addressed by transit operators. For instance, increasing the visibility of LGBTQ2S+ in
transit ads and communications, oering LGBT sensitivity training for transit sta, and instructing transit
operators in the use of general neutral pronouns for all passengers would be a few simple ways to create a more
hospital environment for LGBTQ2S+ transit users (Benner, 2016). However, the creation and enforcement
of policies that prohibit discrimination has also been identied as an important measure for increasing the
safety of LGBTQ2S+ transit users (Lubitow et al. 2017).
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

Newcomer and Immigrant Residents
e experiences of newcomers and immigrant residents were included in 75 of the references examined (42%).
A plurality of the cases were in the context of Toronto and just 16 focused in rural contexts. Transit was a
theme that emerged in research around various aspects of immigration and settlement because of a high level
of transit dependence (Ng, Northcott, and Abu-laban 2007; Amar and Teelucksingh 2015; Ray and Preston
2015; Arora 2017; Brotman, Koehn, and Ferrer 2017; Syed et al. 2017). e three strongest transit barriers
were: (1) Services being unreliable, including not going where people needed to travel (Silver, Blustein, and
Weitzman 2012; Rahder and McLean 2013; Hertel, Keil, and Collens 2016; Rural Development Institute 2016;
Arora 2017; Syed et al. 2017; Hanley et al. 2018); (2)e long travel time for transit trips (Kaur 2013; Li and
Que 2016; Ray and Preston 2015; Brotman, Koehn, and Ferrer 2017) (3) Unaordability of transit (Smirl
2018; Li and Que 2016), including trade-os between transit and other expenses (Amar and Teelucksingh
2015).
Transit barriers for immigrant residents included diculties related to language skills (Hertel et al. 2016;
Brotman et al. 2017; Syed et al 2017), and the need for programs to orient new transit riders (Makwarimba et al.
2013), as well as training to reduce bias and prejudice experienced by immigrant residents, and particularly those
racialized as other than white (Smirl 2018; Bhuyan and Schnidt 2019). Some of the disproportionate impacts of
transit barriers for immigrant residents include concerns around access to groceries, specialty grocery stores,
and getting groceries home (Amar and Teelucksingh 2015; Smirl 2018), particularly in winter weather (Vahabi
and Damba 2013), access to employment (Rahder and McLean 2013; Hanley et al. 2018), and trade-os between
transit and housing access (Kaur 2013).
Transit Dependency
Across a range of studies residents readily described themselves as transit dependent (Amar and Teelucksingh
2015; Ray and Preston 2015). For some residents this dependency was related to not having a drivers’ license,
including residents who had arrived as adults and missed the standard window for learning how to drive
(Amar and Teelucksingh 2015), and older residents who were unable to drive, or uncomfortable with driving
(Brotman et al. 2017; Syed et al. 2017). Residents also described themselves as transit dependent because the
cost of alternatives was prohibitive, including taxis (Smirl 2018), or personal cars (Arora 2017; Woodgate et al.
2017). Immigrant residents also employed alternatives such as walking and biking, which were more dicult
in the winter (Li and Que 2015; Rural Development Institute 2016; Woodgate et al. 2017), or over the long
distances in rural and suburban areas (Rural Development Institute 2016; Syed et al. 2017).
Unreliable Service and Long Trip Times
Related to transit dependence was a recurring theme of unreliable service, the length of trips and the ways in
which transit cuts have impacted services (Rahder and McLean 2013; Hanley et al 2018). Residents described
services that were less frequent outside of city centres, and not available in rural communities (Ray and
Preston 2015). Residents also described the lack of service early in the morning or late at night (Hanley et al.
2018). ese limitations were also related to safety concerns. For example, as one resident described, while
the night bus runs twenty-four hours a day the stop was long walk from home not something she would feel
comfortable walking in the early morning hours (Hertel et al. 2016; see also Li and Que 2015). Residents also
noted the length of trips as compared to driving, for example. In one case, a participant noted that, compared
to their drive home, their co-worker’s trip home by transit would be six times as long, including wait and travel
times (Hertel, Keil, and Collens 2016; see also, Ng, Northcott, and Abu-laban 2007). Residents described
various strategies they used to adapt to scheduling issues, such as staying late at work, or arriving early to
stops because of infrequent service (Hertel et al. 2016). Residents in rural areas also highlighted the lack of
transit altogether (Arora 2017).
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

Unaordability of Transit
e cost of transit was a recurring theme across the literature, particularly for new immigrant residents and
the lowest income residents (Amar and Teelucksingh 2015). is included concerns around fare structures that
limited the ability to transfer, adding to the cost of trips with multiple destinations, which are also more common
for women, and a lack of harmonization between systems (Rahder and McLean 2013; Amar and Teelucksingh
2015). Immigrant residents also made various trade-os between the cost of transit and the cost of housing
(Amar and Teelucksingh 2015), balancing between housing that might be further away from community and
cultural amenities but allows for access to transit, and ultimately to work (Kaur 2013). No cost transit passes
were a policy suggestion for various specic groups including immigrant residents who were seniors (Rahder
and McLean 2013; Brotman et al. 2017), families (McLaren 2015), and low income earners (Hertel et al. 2016;
Government of BC 2018).
Disproportionate Impacts
While barriers to transit impact immigrant residents in similar ways to other equity seeking groups, access to
food, community, and health and social services were disproportionate impacts in immigrant communities.
Multiple studies specically examined access to food for newcomers, and found that mobility was a barrier
to accessing food, such as due to a lack of transit access to stores with culturally specic foods or to discount
food stores (Vahabi and Damba 2013; Amar and Teelucksingh 2015). Additionally, residents reported that
barriers to transit impacted their ability to engage with culture and community (Amar and Teelucksingh
2015), including diculties accessing events, shopping or visiting family (Rahder and McLean 2013) or
gaining access to “diasporic amenities” (Kaur 2013). In rural areas without public transit, residents described
both the challenge of building community without a car, and the ways in which a lack of community meant
weaker networks, for example, with fewer people to ask for a ride (Arora 2017).
Limits on access to health and social services, as well as employment, are additional disproportionate impacts
of barriers to transit for newcomer and immigrant residents and communities. Studies tracking doctor’s
appointments noted that bus riders were more like than others to miss appointments (Silver et al. 2012;
Nicholas et al. 2017). Newcomer residents also described being unable to attend programs (Rahder and McLean
2013), use day care vouchers because of a lack of transportation (Vahabi and Damba 2013; Makwarimba et al.
2013), or missing school (Li et al. 2017). Access to employment outside of cities was dicult or not possible
(Ray and Preston 2015; Hanley et al. 2018). is was a particular challenge for residents who were in the
lowest paying jobs, include temp workers or other with multiple or moving work sites (Hanley et al. 2018).
Residents also generally discussed feelings of exhaustion and being drained, stress and anxiety related to the
long commutes, as well as worry about being late to work (Kaur 2013; Rahder and McLean 2013).
People with Disabilities
For people with disabilities, mobility issues can touch on every aspect of their life, limiting access to essential
services (including health care, education, employment and food), as well as social, cultural and community
events. e impacts of poor transportation are signicant for social inclusion and mental well-being. As one
person with disabilities reported:
“Every day I cannot get out. Every day I cannot go to community
meetings that I wish to attend. Every day I may not be able to get groceries or go to medical
appointments. Every day I cannot get services available to everyone else in this city. Every day my
quality of life is diminished because the basics of mobility are refused to me and others in this city.
(Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission 2013, 6). e themes that emerged from the literature include
diculty accessing destinations by transit, poor paratransit service, the cost of transit, and transit operators’
treatment of people with disabilities.
Access to Destinations
For people living with a disability, transportation is a critical barrier to multiple types of destinations, including
“Every day I cannot get out. Every day I cannot go to
community meetings that I wish to attend. Every day
I may not be able to get groceries or go to medical
appointments. Every day I cannot get services
available to everyone else in this city. Every day my
quality of life is diminished because the basics of
mobility are refused to me and others in this city.
(Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission 2013, 6)
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
employment, health care and social activities, both for those that use paratransit and regular transit services
(Bezyak et al. 2019; Darrah, Magill-Evans, and Galambos 2010; Matin et al. 2021; Shier, Graham, and Jones
2009; St. Denis 2019). Transportation is seen as a major barrier to employment for people with disabilities
(Shier, Graham, and Jones 2009), especially for employment which requires on-call or exible scheduling (BC
Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation 2014). For people with disabilities living in rural areas,
there are few transportation options (Acker-Verney 2020; Croxall, Giord, and Jutai 2020; Shirgaokar et al.
2020), as well as fewer accessible locations such as meeting places (Levasseur et al. 2020). For Indigenous elders
who use mobility devices, transportation was seen as the largest barrier to participation in cultural events
(Croxall, Giord, and Jutai 2020). Access to healthcare for children with special needs was seen as particularly
dicult by public transit (Ballantyne et al. 2019), even in cases where it may be faster than driving (Ballantyne
et al. 2019).
Issues with Conventional Transit Service
For those with mobility issues that used regular transit service, the long distance to stops posed a signicant
barrier (Rowe and Malhotra 2013). is is exacerbated by winter conditions, when snow and ice can make it
impossible to travel to bus stops, or access buses (Wilton & Schormans 2019; Hammel et al. 2015; Hansen,
Wilton, and Newbold 2017; Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission 2013), as well as generally poor sidewalk
conditions that can result in falls (McGrath et al. 2017). Distance to transit stops were also a concern for people
with developmental disabilities, who desired to use public transit to increase their independence, but did not
have good transit service near their home or destinations (Was, Steinmetz-Wood, and Levinson 2017).
ose that rely on regular transit and use mobility devices must often wait long times for buses that can
accommodate wheelchairs (Chandran 2017) or have accessible seats free (Lindqvist and Lundälv 2012), making
it dicult to reach appointments or other destinations on time. Long travel times impact the ability to attend
healthcare appointments for mothers with children with disabilities (Ballantyne et al. 2019). Accessible or low-
oor buses may not be scheduled consistently on routes, leading to long wait times and limiting accessibility
(Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission 2013). Concerns about accommodating wheelchairs or other
mobility devices is a major barrier to accessing transit services (Maratos et al. 2016). Other barriers include the
gap between transit vehicles and platform/stop, drivers not stopping at correct locations (especially for those
with visual impairments), automatization or inaccessible ticketing (Øksenholt and Aarhaug 2018; Rowe and
Malhotra 2013), and riders not being able to see the arrival of buses (McGrath et al. 2017).
Poor Paratransit Service
While paratransit services provide door-to-door trips, there are disadvantages in limited service hours,
requirements for advance booking, delays, limits on companions, higher fares, cancelation fees, and prioritizing
rides by trip purpose (Rowe and Malhotra 2013). Scholars have noted the paradox that transportation services
for people with disabilities are intended to improve community accessibility and independence, yet the
structuring of these services often creates additional barriers (Darrah, Magill-Evans, and Galambos 2010).
e long window for paratransit trips could mean that appointments or classes are missed or passengers spend
hours waiting for rides (Ballantyne et al. 2019; Rowe and Malhotra 2013). e requirement to book trips far
in advance also limits social activities or other types of community participation (Darrah, Magill-Evans, and
Galambos 2010). e inexibility of scheduling for paratransit is a barrier for some types of employment, such
as in this example:
“… if an employer expects me to work overtime, it’d be hard for me to schedule my
[paratransit] bus around that because it’s already there, right? I would basically have to nd my own
way home. And the only alternative would be to, to call up one of those taxi vans… I’ve often used
those, and those cost me anywhere from $20 to even $30 per trip [up to half a day’s wages]”
(Shier,
Graham, and Jones 2009, 69). Where paratransit prioritizing rides by type, people are often unable to make
trips to see friends or socialize (Rowe and Malhotra 2013; Smirl 2018).
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

Limited hours for paratransit also limit social and community activities for many (Korotchenko and Clarke 2014;
Rowe and Malhotra 2013). Paratransit was also seen as unable to fulll the needs of new parents with disabilities,
such as the diculty of installing car seats for paratransit trips, restrictions on how many children could accompany
a parent, and inexibility in scheduling trips (Mercerat and Saïas 2020). Critically, in addition to these issues with
paratransit service, demand often exceeds supply so rides may not be available at the time needed, for specic types
of trips (as trips may be prioritized based on purpose) (Rowe and Malhotra 2013), or simply not available (Jacobs
2018).
Cost of Transit
As noted in the section on poverty, aordability is a key concern, including for people with disabilities on income
assistance or with limited incomes. For example, one disability advocate who worked to ensure transit accessibility,
“never, ever takes the bus, because it would mean the dierence between eating and transit. She chooses
to take the $52 transit portion of her disability benet as cash to pay for groceries” (St. Denis 2019). Women
with disabilities report having to spend more on transportation if unable to use public transit (Hansen, Wilton, and
Newbold 2017), as well as being charged higher rates for taxi services (Olkin et al. 2019), creating a barrier to accessing
healthcare (Matin et al. 2021). e cost of travel for people with disabilities in remote and isolated communities are
signicantly higher, leading to unsafe conditions for Indigenous women in accessing basic services (Quinlan 2018).
is was also noted in the stakeholder roundtables, which emphasized that when direct routes are not available to
people with disabilities, more expensive and time-consuming alternatives are required. Aordability issues are also
a concern when attendants are required to pay full fares to accompany a person with a disability, creating an unfair
nancial burden (BC Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation 2014). Lack of aordable transportation
for people with disability has impacts on mental health, including contributing to the feeling that “they were trapped
at home due to the high cost of transportation” (Rowe and Malhotra 2013, 137). Taking public transport was also
seen as very stressful for parents of children with disabilities (City of Vancouver 2019, 1).
Treatment of People with Disabilities and Harassment
e treatment of disabled people by transit operators is often problematic. Riders report problems such as drivers
not assisting with mobility devices or ensuring seats are available (Jacobs 2018; Korotchenko and Clarke 2014; Olkin
et al. 2019), or not helping those that may have diculty understanding schedules (Harrold 2012). For example,
“participants faced barriers because bus drivers refused to pull the switch to allow for low oor access or parked
too far from the curb, underscoring the reality that physical accommodations alone are inadequate but need to be
followed with appropriate training” (Rowe and Malhotra 2013, 135). Transit riders also report drivers refusing
to secure wheelchairs, resulting in injuries, unsafe conditions, and damage to wheelchairs (Saskatchewan Human
Rights Commission 2013; 2016), as well as driving before riders are seated, creating safety concerns for those with
vision impairments (McGrath et al. 2017). Riders report being passed by drivers or treated as “bothersome” for
requiring accommodations on transit (Olkin et al. 2019).
Harassment from other passengers was also noted as an issue, such as in refusal to accommodate those with a
disability, especially for non-visible conditions (Maratos et al. 2016; Vick 2013; Wayland et al. 2020). ose with
non-visible disabilities report being stopped by transit operators for using disability passes with the implication
that they were obtained dishonestly (St. Denis 2019). People with intellectual disabilities note the potential for
public transit to increase independence but were limited by safety concerns, including harassment (Wilton and
Schormans 2019).
People Living in Poverty or Experiencing Homelessness
e most common barrier for people experiencing poverty noted in the literature is the cost of transit services,
including individual fares and reduced monthly passes. For those with low incomes:
“Minor nancial
decisions, such as paying a single bus fare, must be weighed against eating, taking medicines,
“Minor financial decisions, such as paying a single
bus fare, must be weighed against eating, taking
medicines, and other very basic necessities.
(Scott, Bryant, and Aquanno 2020)
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

and other very basic necessities”
(Scott, Bryant, and Aquanno 2020, 604). Relative to the income for
minimum wage workers, the cost of transit could be as high as 20% of daily earnings (Ross and Ho 2016)2 and
unaordable for families (McLaren 2015), seniors (Brotman, Koehn, and Ferrer 2017) and those on income
assistance (Smirl 2018). Others note that the high cost of housing makes transit unaordable (Lambert 2018;
Ross and Ho 2016).
Poor Transit Service
e literature identies several issues related to transit service for people living in poverty, including lack
of public transit, and particularly poor service at o-peak times (Chandran 2017; Government of British
Columbia 2018; McLaren 2015; Ross and Ho 2016). Lack of o-peak service, including early morning and late
night, limits employment options, such as for those doing shift work or requiring travel to dierent job sites
(Smirl 2018). Unreliable transit service also causes issues in maintaining employment (City of Vancouver 2019)
and missing appointments (Silver, Blustein, and Weitzman 2012). In some areas with concentrated poverty,
residents must travel further for employment and services, limiting their access (Chandran 2017). In some cases,
while transit service is available, it results in excessively long commute times (2+ hours each way), especially
when combined with other care duties such as taking children to childcare (New Brunswick Rural and Urban
Transportation Advisory Committee 2017). Lack of transit also limits the housing options for formerly homeless
people, especially when combined with job locations that are far from aordable housing, making the cost of
travel unsustainable (Scott, Bryant, and Aquanno 2020). People experiencing homelessness have also been
physically excluded from transit services (Sakamoto et al. 2008).
Access to Employment
Poor transit service is a barrier to employment with job locations inaccessible by transit (Harris 2020; Scott,
Bryant, and Aquanno 2020), transit service not aligned with shift work times (Chandran 2017; McLaren 2015),
unpredictability of transit service (City of Vancouver 2019) or the need to access dierent job site locations such
as for construction work (Smirl 2018). Unpredictable and infrequent transit service was particularly problematic
as it made it dicult to arrive on work on time. Searching for employment was also made more dicult as job
locations may not be in employment listings so job-seekers do not know if it is accessible by transit (Harris 2020).
Health, Services and Access to Food
Lack of transit service has wide-ranging impacts, including reduced access to medical appointments, grocery
stores, and government services (such as applying for benets), and community services (Government of
British Columbia 2018; Chandran 2017). Travel for medical appointments is particularly dicult for people
living in poverty, who are much more likely to miss or re-schedule medical appointments due to transportation
problems (Silver, Blustein, and Weitzman 2012) or be unable to access healthcare (Loignon et al. 2015).
People living in poverty must often choose between spending limited income on transit fares for medical
appointments or food (Dorman 2016). Lack of transportation is a signicant barrier to accessing health care
for people experiencing homelessness (Ramsay et al. 2019). For youth experiencing homelessness, lack of
transit prevents access to critical services such as substance abuse support, and medical and mental health
services (McParland 2020). As noted in stakeholder roundtables, unhoused individuals might have to choose
between being with their belongings and transportation since oftentimes they cannot take them on transit
vehicles.
Access to lower-priced grocery stores by transit is an added expense for low-income people which can lead
to food insecurity (Vahabi and Damba 2013), especially in areas without transit service (Activating Change
Together for Community Food Security 2014). e cost of transportation creates additional stress in accessing
food, including to foodbanks which may require long waits beyond the length of transit transfers (Scott,
2
For example, a 2-zone round trip fare on Translink (Vancouver, B.C.) is $8, making up 20% of
a $40 daily income (Ross and Ho 2016).
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

Bryant, and Aquanno 2020) and the diculties of taking groceries home by public transit (Smirl 2018).
Transportation, Well-being and Social Inclusion
While community service organizations may provide free transit fares, these are often only for specic trips such
as looking for employment. People living in poverty identify transportation as a major barrier to full participation
in society. e inability to access transit contributes to social exclusion, with impacts on mental health, isolation,
and overall well-being. For example, the high cost of transportation means that those living in poverty are often
unable to visit friends and family or other activities to contribute to wellness such as recreation (Scott, Bryant,
and Aquanno 2020). Women living in poverty note social isolation due to either unaordable or unavailable
transit service, which is compounded by other factors such as the need to care for young children, illness or
violence (Murray, Ferguson, and Letemendia 2010).
Travel to what may be seen as “non-essential” services can be particularly problematic for people living in
poverty, and exacerbated by other concerns such as recovering from substance abuse. As one participant
quoted, while there are mental health and recovery benets from recreation, transit was a primary barrier in
getting those services:
“Getting out of the house and into ‘the world’ is hard enough when you are
recovering from addiction. en you have to deal with transit, stigma of drivers who won’t let you
ride for free or the thought you have to ask for a free ride because you only have $95/month for basic
human needs. Once you make it there, you feel like everyone is staring at you. It’s intimidating. I
know going to the gym, swimming and going in the sauna is going to make the world of dierence,
but it’s just too hard”
(City of Vancouver 2019, 15).
Lack of reliable transportation also contributes to mental health impacts, such as isolation (Lambert 2018;
Scott, Bryant, and Aquanno 2020; Smirl 2018)(Government of British Columbia 2018; Smirl 2018), stress
related to unreliable transit (Government of British Columbia 2018), and social stressors from the need to
ask friends and family for rides (Palm et al. 2021). e inexibility of those living in poverty makes reliance
on transit very stressful, such as meeting transfer times to avoid paying extra fares, carefully planning routes
to maximize fare eciency, or walking long distances, in addition to concerns about being on time for work,
school and appointments. Harassment and stigma from transit sta was noted as an issue by many, such as
drivers refusing to stop buses for those that appear homeless (Chandran 2017), have mental health issues, or
collect recycling for income (City of Vancouver 2019). For people living in poverty, these mental health impacts
are also attributed to being forced to make dicult choices between transportation and other necessities:
“lack of access to steady modes of transportation was a great source of stress, by forcing very dicult choices
to be made surrounding food, healthcare, and social contact” (Scott, Bryant, and Aquanno 2020, 605).
People Living in Rural Areas
e literature on rural transportation is small, but adds important insights in to the impacts of a lack of
transit in rural communities. Twenty-eight of the 175 references related to issues in rural communities. Just
sixteen were focused exclusively on rural locations. e most common barriers identied in the rural literature
were lack of service and aordability. Common outcomes related to these barriers included people unable to
participate in social activities, or visit with friends. Safety was another important concern related to lack of
service, alongside limitations in terms of employment.
e literature highlights the relationships between a lack of transit and barriers to assessing critical services
such as health care, limits in employment and education options, and the push towards potentially unsafe
travel such as hitchhiking. e literature also draws attention to the lack of essential services such as
health care in many rural communities, which increases the importance regional transit. e literature also
provides reminders about the regional character of rural life in Canada where people regularly move between
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

communities for work, to meet with friends and family and for recreation alongside service access.
A Lack of Service at Multiple Scales
A recurring theme across the literature was the lack of rural transit at various scales. is was a concern in
communities close to metropolitan centres and in remote communities. e low density in rural communities
with low populations and large distances was one key barrier to establishing transit in smaller communities. For
example, a study on ageing in place (Menec et al. 2015) found that while respondents had more opportunities
for participation in larger rural communities, the trade-o was less satisfaction in terms of transportation
options. Even in larger centres service is often limited, for example with no evening or Sunday service in
Whitehorse (Westfall 2010).
e termination of regional bus services was another important theme, particularly in Prairie provinces. e
impacts of missing bus service reverberated across residents’ lives impacting mobility alongside safety, service
access and employment, and the lives of friends and family who have taken on additional responsibilities for
transporting bus users (Birrell 2020; Hansen et al. 2020).
Limits on Mobility and Participation: Employment, Health and Safety
e lack of transit service creates barriers that limit community members’ ability to move around their
communities, and to participate in social and economic activities. Limitations on employment were a key
theme that emerged both in terms of location and time. For example, in a study of temp workers (Hanley et
al. 2018) participants reported not being able to accept work because of no public transit access. ere were
also a range of health and safety concerns related to limited transit access. Studies of perinatal care in both
Indigenous (Cidro, Bach, and Frohlick 2020; Lawford, Bourgeault, and Giles 2019) and immigrant (Nicholas et
al. 2017) communities illustrate the complications of care related to limited transportation including diculty
getting to appointments.
For residents with disability, including older residents, social participation was limited by a lack of access to
disability-specic transit. Where it exists, services are limited, and there were also specic barriers noted
such as having to book trips in advance (Hansen et al. 2020). In research with First Nations Elders who live
on reserve and use wheelchairs, informants identify transportation as the largest barrier to participating in
community events, since travel for medical appointments might be available but not for community events of
ceremony (Croxall et al. 2020). Looking specically at the closure of bus routes in rural Canada, residents also
note that private companies that are lling in the service gaps are not always accessible, such as for wheelchair
users (Birrell 2020).
Limitations on mobility and participation are also connected to broader concerns including mental health
and domestic violence. Participants in a study on driving for elderly residents note that isolation was one
of the greatest concerns people have with regards to having to stop driving (Hansen et al. 2020; Levasseur
et al. 2020). Social isolation related to lack of mobility is known to decrease mental health (Lambert 2018).
Women experiencing domestic and sexual violence were found to be made more vulnerable because of a lack
of transportation. As one informant in a study of leaving domestic violence notes
“Even if a safe house [or]
shelter… has space, there isn’t always a way to get there”
(McParland 2020).
Lack of service is also related to broader safety concerns. is includes people having to make unsafe choices
such as hitchhiking (Morton 2016), or walking in areas with limited pedestrian infrastructure. One informant
in a study about car dependency describes her commute from a night class “I had to wait there for my parents
to come and get me or walk home, […] in the middle of the countryside, […] 45 minutes.” Additionally, the
ongoing impact of colonialism, including dis-investment in services along the highways ranging from shelter
to cell service (Morton 2016, see also Lambert 2018), and the lack of will to act to ensure safety. Roundtable
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

participants noted the lack of operational funding to support community transit in rural areas.
Private Vehicle Dependency
Limited transit means that many rural residents report dependency on private vehicles. As one resident in
a study about elderly residents and driving put it succinctly “ere is no bus here. Nothing. If you live here,
you have to have a car, you have to be able to drive” (Hansen et al. 2020). Private vehicle dependency leads to
fear for elderly residents around the prospect of having to stop driving. From another perspective, immigrant
residents in rural communities describe the change in quality of life after being able to aord a car, for example
being able to build community (Arora 2017).
ere are also time costs related to a lack of transit for the friends and family members of non-drivers. In an
interview about his research on the impacts of the closure of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company rural
bus service Jacob Alhassan describes
“Middle-aged women in particular seemed to be those bearing
the heavy brunt of time poverty […] ey complained bitterly about no longer having time for
themselves because they have to spend so much time driving. […] when your mother or uncle or
whoever cannot ride the bus, you don’t just fold your arms and do nothing. You step in to help”
(Birrell, 2020). Non-drivers describe the diculty of being dependent on friends and family, for example
scheduling hospital visits around the family work schedules (Hansen et al. 2020).
Aordability
Rural residents also identied the cost of long distance travel, buses and ferries as unique barriers. Cost was
tied into the limits to mobility and participation described above. For example, in a study conducted by the
Native Women’s Association of Canada (2018) a participant in BC described that while feeling unsafe she
hitchhikes to regular medical appointments because of a lack of transit. is brings together a number of
dierent rural challenges, the lack of both transportation and health services in rural communities and the
health and safety risks limited services create. Finally, the cost of owning a car was a barrier in areas where
residents were predominantly dependent on private vehicles (Belton et al. 2017).
Racialized People
Racism is a Barrier to Transit Use
Racialized people experience multiple forms of racism when using public transit, including from operators,
passengers, fare collectors, and transit police. Racism can also be experienced in the form of and grati on
trains and transit restrooms and verbal harassment from fellow passengers (Howells 2019; Munro 2018). e
various forms of racism experienced by transit riders are well documented and can discourage racialized people
from using transit (Eaton and Enoch 2020; Government of British Columbia 2018; Harrold 2012; Khan 2021;
Makwarimba et al. 2013). Participants in the stakeholder sessions noted how systemic anti-racism prevents
people from accessing services more broadly, and this can be exacerbated by transit issues. For example,
participants discussed racialized youth missing appointments for income assistance because of busses being late
and as a result being cut o from services.
Racialized riders are over-ticketed and issued tickets at a rate more than seven times their share of the
population; fare collectors and transit police engage in racial proling, often assuming racialized people
have not paid. For example, as one transit rider states:
“You assumed I didn’t tap because I was Black.
e white person in front of me here didn’t tap, and you didn’t ask them”
(Spurr, 2021). Transit
enforcement ocers are more likely to issue tickets than warnings for racialized people. Ticketing reduces
mobility. For instance, racialized youth tend to rely very heavily on public transit; when youth receive tickets,
they are less likely to take transit (Bliss 2020). Overall, these experiences of inter-personal and structural
racism impede access to transit for racialized people.
“You assumed I didn’t tap because I was Black. The
white person in front of me here didn’t tap, and you
didn’t ask them.
(Spurr, 2021)
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences
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Seniors and Elders
e experiences of seniors and Elders were included in 36 of the sources (21% of all articles). e most common
barriers identied in the literature were the cost of fares, followed by services barriers including the length of
travel, and barriers related to disabilities. Impacts of these barriers that disproportionately impacted seniors
included limited access to a range of activities such as visiting friends and family, social and recreational
events and cultural ceremonies. e research also nds negative health impacts including depression.
Costs
For seniors on xed income the cost of fares is an important barrier (Sengupta et al. 2013; Ross and Ho 2016).
For residents who could not aord the cost of a pass upfront they also faced the additional cost of paying
individual fares (City of Vancouver 2019). For residents who do not receive benets, for example senior
new immigrant residents, there is an even greater reliance on rides from family and community members
(Kadowaki et al. n.d.). e cost of transit is especially important for seniors as they become more transit
dependent, as other mobility options such as driving, walking and taxies can be stressful, too dicult or
expensive to use (Hansen et al. 2020; Syed et al. 2017). Free fares for seniors and others was one important
policy recommendation (City of Vancouver 2019; Kadowaki et al. n.d.). Mah and Mitra (2017) assess a free
transit pilot program in Oakville Ontario where seniors were able to ride transit for free one day a week. e
program was a relatively low investment for the city, and yielded increased senior ridership. ose that used
the program, reported a range of benets from nancial saving to more exible schedules than dedicated
disability and senior transport, though non-users noted that it was inconvenient. ere were also benets
such as the opportunity for spontaneous social interactions with the drivers and other riders. As the authors
describe this free transit program was just one part of need for transportation with “dignity and comfort”
(Mah and Mitra 2017).
Service Barriers Including Barriers Related to Disability
Senior residents and Elders shared concerns around the length of trips and the unreliable or unpredictable
nature of service (Ng, Northcott, and Abu-laban 2007; Syed et al. 2017; City of Vancouver 2019). ere were
additional concerns specic to this community. Senior residents and Elders discussed lowered mobility related
to age-related sight loss, increased diculty walking, driving, and balance.
Residents also reported concerns about transit environments and services, such as nding stops when signage
and waynding did not support those with reduced sight (Ng et al. 2007; McGrath et al. 2017); maintenance
near stops, such as worries about falling due to cracks in the sidewalk (Ng et al. 2007) and snow removal at
stops. Other issues related to driver behaviour, such as starting buses before riders with mobility and balance
challenges had sat down or not strapping in wheelchair users (Maratos et al. 2016; Saskatchewan Human
Rights 2016), or complicated by maintenance issues, not kneeling buses when there was snow (Saskatchewan
Human Rights Commission 2016, see also Korotchenko and Clarke 2014).
Senior residents and Elders also described barriers to transit services specically designed for people with a
disability, including cuts to service (City of Vancouver 2019), and not providing the same level of mobility
as the broader transit system, with more limited service areas (Smirl 2018; Hanson et al. 2020). Lack of
exibility and wait times were a common barrier for dedicated disability and senior transportation. is
included systems that lacked capacity for the volume of requests (Nelson and Rosenberg 2021), having to
book far in advance, or having to schedule travel in a way that left people waiting sometimes hours to be
picked up for return trips (Saskatchewan Human Rights 2016). Residents also reported simply not knowing
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

how the system worked (Hanson et al. 2020), an important barrier for residents of suburban municipalities
without past experience with transit (Mah and Mitra 2017), for immigrant senior residents (Kadowaki et al.
n.d.), and for those with general negative perceptions of transit (Hanson et al. 2020). As First Nations and
Inuit participants in an Ottawa-based study described, while they were thankful for the service, they also
found the system unreliable and dicult to navigate (Brooks-Cleatora, Giles, and Flaherty 2019).
Impacts on Senior Residents and Elders
One of the disproportionate impacts of transit barriers for senior residents and Elders were concerns around
isolation (Brotman, Koehn, and Ferrer 2017; Smirl 2018). ese included a lack of access to a range of
everyday resources including health care, shopping and groceries, but also places of worship (Kadowaki et
al. n.d.), Indigenous ceremony, cultural and community centres (Brooks-Cleatora, Giles, and Flaherty 2019;
Nelson and Rosenberg 2021), meeting friends and family (Smirl 2018), and volunteering or engaging in social
and civic participation (Brotman, Koehn, and Ferrer 2017; Smirl 2018; Kadowaki et al. n.d.; Levasseur et al.
2020). While trips deemed “non-essential” by paratransit were not prioritized, these types of trips were an
important part of limiting feelings of isolation (Smirl 2018), claustrophobia from not being able to leave their
own areas (City of Vancouver 2019), worries over fears of depression (Hansen et al. 2020), and reduced sense
of community (Birrell 2020; Kadowaki et al. n.d.).
Community Transit Providing Access
In addition to free passes and fares for seniors (Mah and Mitra 2017; Kadowaki et al. n.d.), the literature also
suggests and highlights examples of community transit as a solution to mobility barriers. ese are smaller bus
systems that run two or three times a week to meet the needs of seniors (Cox et al. 2020). Tonkin (2018) gives
the example of Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nation, which has hired a community member to train to become a driver
for Elders. e approach of community transit also follows the guide of developing transit in consultation with
senior riders (Kadowaki et al. 2020). is includes thinking about routes, signage including the need for multi-
lingual signage, and accessibility in all parts of the system. is also relates more generally to the important role
that transportation plays in ageing with dignity and health.
Women and Transgender People
Sexual Harassment is a Barrier
Sexual harassment is a concern for many women and transgender people. For many, sexual harassment is
expected when using public transit. Sexual harassment from transit operators, transit police, and from other
transit users, are regularly reported by women and transgender people (Schwan et al. 2020; Turn et al. 2020).
Sexual harassment occurs during the walk to transit stations (Lenton et al. 1999), while waiting for transit,
and on-board transit vehicles (Yusuf and Shingoose 2013). Women and transgender people report feeling
particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment when using transit after dark (Yusuf and Shingoose 2013). Sexual
harassment aects mode choice; women often feel more comfortable using ride-sharing and private vehicles
to avoid feeling unsafe on public transit (Scheim, Bauer, and Pyne 2014).
Barriers to transit impede the ability of women and transgender people to access vital health and social services
(Ballantyne, et al 2019), education and employment opportunities (Smirl 2018), as well as community and
cultural institutions that contribute to health and well-being (Ballantyne et al. 2019; Government of British
Columbia 2018; Ramsay et al. 2019). Responses to sexual harassment often focus on individual behaviour
rather than making transit safer for all users. For instance, women are advised to not go out at night and not
to travel alone, or to call for help when experiencing harassment (WPS 2021).
Transgender People Face Specic Forms of Harassment
Transgender people face specic forms of harassment and face discrimination from transit operators, other
passengers, and transit police. e misuse of pronouns, comments regarding physical appearance, or failure
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

to receive help from other passengers, operators, or police during experiences of harassment are common
experiences for transgender people (Scheim et al. 2014).
Feedback from Stakeholder Roundtables
We presented our preliminary ndings to stakeholder organizations that work with equity-deserving groups
(see Knowledge Mobilization, above). e participants in the roundtables largely felt that our ndings reected
their experiences. A limitation of our research is that while it addresses conditions across Canada, the process of
synthesizing attens dierences between communities and contexts. is was raised by stakeholders who spoke
about local conditions that impact transit services for equity-seeking groups, such as provincial support for
subsidized passes, or integration between paratransit and conventional transit. ese contexts are important for
understanding the experiences of equity-deserving groups, but not addressed in depth here.
A major theme raised by stakeholders was dignity as a framework for understanding policies and practices
related to public transit. Although dignity was not a concept that appeared in the literature, for stakeholders,
“dignity” describes the desire to easily access transit services that fully meets their needs without fear of
harassment or harm, and to fully reap the social, economic, and health benets that access to transit normally
confers. e lens of dignity was applied to a variety of lived experiences with public transit, such as the lack
of value placed on people’s time (with the expectation that transit trips would be much longer and more
inconvenient than other trips), lack of basic services for transit users (such as bus shelters and washrooms),
and support only for certain types of trips (such as for paratransit users or transit fares provided by agencies).
is was also noted in a lack of respect for the lives of people from equity-deserving groups, such as policies
that require people with disabilities to be evacuated last in emergencies and racist enforcement of transit
policies. is also translates into more specic issues that were not reected in the literature, such as the
availability of gender-neutral washrooms, and need for trauma-informed and cultural-sensitivity training for
transit employees. Participants also commented about a lack of consultation with impacted groups about
policies that aect them, such as how people with disabilities are accommodated on transit, or when routes are
changed. Importantly, one participant noted their frustration with the lack of follow-through by government
agencies after many committees and consultation about these issues.
Stakeholders also noted how funding constraints impact a wide variety of areas, such as (1) lack of operational
funding to support community transit in rural and other areas, (2) limitations in how transit fares can
be distributed by caseworkers, and (3) limitations in funding to support travel from remote or isolated
communities. Stakeholders noted limitations in the funding models for transit more broadly, such as for
operations, as a barrier to improving equitable outcomes. Relatedly, while legislation such as the Accessible
Canada Act requires compliance for new investments, there is little funding to address existing barriers,
particularly in the built environment.
Stakeholders also reinforced that the move to digital fares is problematic for those without credit cards, reliable
internet access or recent immigrants, as well as for agencies and caseworkers that provide transit fares, and
exacerbated by reduction or elimination of in-person services during the pandemic. Similarly, the barriers
associated with low-income bus passes (such as proof of income or tax lings, home addresses) limits their
potential eectiveness.
Future research suggested by participants included: (1) understanding the “true cost” of free transit,
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

accounting for better health, employment and social outcomes (and the cost of enforcement), as well as the
potential climate impact (2) research on the links between public transit and food security. Policy and program
recommendations from the stakeholder groups include:
• Mandatory reporting requirements such as for para-transit wait times
• Community-based shuttles or alternatives, including operational support
• Requirement for a mechanism for people to report on service or systemic problems
• Education programs for transit operators, including cultural sensitivity and trauma-informed
practices
• Alternative way-nding and communication, such as icons or colours to represent bus routes/stops
• Programs to increase accessibility for Indigenous peoples (especially for youth and elders) on
reserve, and to and from reserves
Research Strengths and Gaps
Overall, we found that the
lived experiences of equity-deserving groups and public transit have
been well documented
, in both the academic literature, and in work by community-based organizations,
non-prots and advocacy groups. While transportation was largely not the primary focus of much of the
research, it was consistently identied in diverse elds such as healthcare, education, labour and employment,
immigration and refugee settlement, social work, and domestic violence prevention. However, we found
gaps in (1) the focus on “damage” rather than a strengths-based approach, (2) research on issues impacting
Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ people, and those living in rural areas.
Much of the literature documenting the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples and other equity-deserving groups
is characterized by its focus on “damage”. In other words, while it documents the challenges such as poverty,
discrimination, and violence, faced by Indigenous people when accessing transit, and the ways these problems
are often compounded by a lack of transit, the literature does not always succeed in identifying the “desires” of
communities or the strength-based approaches that communities may be engaging in to solve problems. Tuck
(2009) notes, while focusing on damage can be an important aspect of problem solving, it can also have the eect
of pathologizing these problems and making problems such as poverty and violence appear endemic or natural for
a community to experience. While Tuck’s observations were made in relation to research focusing on Indigenous
communities, the same could also be said for other equity-deserving groups. Many communities experience
challenges when accessing transit. ese challenges are well known and well understood. However, communities
also have concrete ideas about how these problems might be solved.
e literature contains specic gaps that should be the focus of future research.. e scholarly and grey literature
documenting the experiences of Indigenous people is relatively small. e lack of scholarly literature suggests
several avenues for research in the future, particularly when it comes to the experiences of Indigenous peoples
moving between the reserve and urban communities, and the ways that lack of regional transportation systems
impacts access to health, social, and educational resources, and forces people to rely on unsafe modes of transit
such as hitchhiking. ere is also generally a need for greater research into the transportation and mobility needs
of rural communities, alongside eorts to align policy making with the rich complexity of rural life. For example,
we found no studies directly addressing the lived experience of rural youth, and no comprehensive research
around adaptation to the lack of bus service, or to the general transit needs of communities with no or limited
road access. Similarly, the experiences of LGBTQ2S+ people were largely under-addressed in the Canadian
context.
Although the barriers and impacts created by poor transit service are well documented, there is a gap in how this
translates into broader implications for transit policy, as well as the relationship with housing and built form. While
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

transportation projects are often assessed in terms of their potential to reduce GHG emissions, there should be
similar accounting for the impacts on health, employment, education, and social inclusion for equity-deserving
groups. As a participant in the roundtables noted, future research should include a full cost accounting of free
transit, namely the impact of better accessibility to critical services, rather than just the loss of farebox revenue.
Similarly, we found little evaluation of policy programs designed to address transportation barriers, such as free fare
pilots, with some exceptions (Mah and Mitra 2017).
Implications for Policy and Practice
ese ndings have signicant implications for policy and practice. Given the overwhelming evidence of systemic
discrimination against equity-deserving groups – evidenced by the experiences of those that are reliant on public
transit – there is an urgent need to address these issues. Our recommendations are framed in the context of
the recent mandate letter that requires using an “intersectional lens in order to address systemic inequities
including: systemic racism; unconscious bias; gender-based discrimination; barriers for persons with disabilities;
discrimination against LGBTQ2S+ communities; and inequities faced by all vulnerable populations”(Prime
Minister of Canada 2021)3. We also stress that an equity lens should be applied to all funding and programs, with
priorities placed on addressing community-identied needs and identifying opportunities for collaboration
between agencies.
1. Address the misalignment between funding programs and community needs
While the experiences of equity-deserving groups are well-documented, there are few funding programs to
address the specic challenges faced by these groups. A true commitment to equity requires re-alignment of
funding opportunities, including to address the unaordability of transit fares, programs to support transit
operations, and community-based alternatives.
2. Funding for infrastructure should require an assessment of equity impacts
Applications for funding should be assessed for their potential to improve services for equity-deserving
groups. Although the focus and methods for assessing equity impacts will dier between communities, an
assessment of equity impacts should be required for all future funding programs.
3. Explore programs to reduce or eliminate transit fares
e unaordability of transit as the most common barrier – combined with the negative impacts of fare
enforcement – requires serious evaluation of the potential of free transit. As noted above, the costs of free
transit should be evaluated not just in terms of fare box revenue, but in the impacts on access to health,
education, employment, and social inclusion.
4. Create a dedicated funding stream to redress systemic inequities
ere has been signicant research and consultation on transportation and its impact on equity-deserving
groups. As noted by stakeholder participants, this attention has not been accompanied by programs or funding to
address identied needs. A dedicated funding stream is required to respond to community-identied priorities,
including through support for non-traditional transit providers and programs.
3
At the time of writing (Dec 2021) current mandate letters were not available.
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

5. Provide guidance on addressing knowledge gaps for transit service providers
e ability to address systemic inequities is limited by data that does not include race or other demographic
information (Owusu-Bempah and omas Bernard 2021). However, the collection of this data needs to be
balanced against the potential to create and replicate harms for equity-deserving groups. Guidance should
be provided to transit providers on the collection of equity-based data, including models for partnering
with community-based organizations, meaningful ways to include qualitative data, and the development of
indicators that respond to community needs.
6. Identify areas that require co-ordination with other agencies
Transportation barriers impact access to numerous types of services – and government responsibilities at the
municipal, provincial, and federal levels – requiring signicant co-ordination. Collaboration is particularly
required in the areas of housing, healthcare, education and childcare, justice, regional travel service, and
travel for Indigenous peoples receiving health care services o-reserve. Given the dominance of aordability
as a theme, collaboration is required in the area of income supports, and operating grants to support transit
agencies.
Conclusion
Overall, we found that the lived experiences of equity-seeking groups in Canada have been well documented in
the academic literature and by community-based research. Overwhelmingly, the evidence points to signicant
disadvantages for those that are dependent on public transit or without access to a private vehicle. Notably,
while many attempts have been made to improve access to transit for equity deserving groups, the ability to
access public transit with dignity remains out of reach for many. us, many members of equity-deserving
groups still cannot easily access transit services in ways that fully meets their needs without fear of harassment
or harm. In this way, members of these groups are excluded from the social, economic, and health benets
that access to transit normally confers. While there are areas that could be addressed in future research as
noted above – including re-framing research away from damage-focused approaches –there is a clear need
to address these issues through a re-alignment of funding programs and priorities to focus on the needs of
equity-deserving groups. Rather than further research addressing the harms experienced by equity-deserving
groups, we nd that a critical area for future research should be the evaluation of implemented policy programs
aimed at reducing disparities, aimed at understanding their impacts and ecacy.
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

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16: 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0510-x.
Wyton, Moira. 2019. “Indigenous People, Racial Minorities Disproportionately Penalized on Edmonton
Transit.
Edmonton Journal
, October 1, 2019. https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/
indigenous-people-racial-minorities-over-ticketed-on-edmonton-transit-data-shows.
Yusuf, Entisar, and Connie Shingoose. 2013. “Equity and Inclusion Lens Review of September 2011 Route
Changes.” Text presented at the Equity and Inclusion Lens Review of September 2011 Route Changes,
Ottawa, ON, July 3. https://www.cawi-ivtf.org/sites/default/les/actnow/deputationcawi-eilens-
review-july3_2013.pdf.
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

APPENDIX A: CLASSIFICATION OF CODED ARTICLES
1
Articles could address multiple equity-seeking group so does not sum to 100.
CONTEXT
GEOGRAPHIC
LOCATION
PRIMARY
RESEARCH
METHOD
EQUITYSEEKING
GROUP
ADDRESSED
AUTHOR TYPE
Urban
Canada
Interviews
People living in poverty,
experiencing homelessness
Not lived experience
Children or youth
Academic
52%
Percentage of Articles
79%
53%
25%
2%
15%
59%
Rural
U.S.
Focus Groups
Indigenous people
Legal cases / police data
Racialized people
Organization
9%
11%
15%
26%
2%
28%
24%
Multiple
Other
Surveys
LGBTQ+ people
Unknown
Rural
Seniors, elders
Media
37%
10%
14%
7%
6%
16%
21%
17%
Not Specified
Photovoice
Newcomers or immigrants
Literature Review
People with disabilities
Women or other gender identities
2%
1%
24%
6%
34%
45%
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

APPENDIX B: CODEBOOK
COGNITIVE
BARRIERS
BARRIERS
RELATING TO
DISABILITY
LANGUAGE
BARRIERS
FARES
COST + OTHER
PHYSICAL
BARRIERS
POLICING
HOUSING
ISSUES
Can’t aord reduced monthly fares
Can’t get to transit - weather dependent
Financial impact of policing / ticketing
Can’t access digital fares (no credit)
Barriers for those with children
Fear of getting ticketed
CODES
SUB-CODES
Understanding signs and directions
Understanding signs / directions
Fear of getting lost
Diiculty understanding transit driver
Can’t aord single fares
Can’t get to transit vehicles
Impact of policing / ticketing on
employment, education, or other
Can’t aord fares (not specific)
Can’t access transit vehicles
Fear of police / prefer to avoid
Don’t know about reduced fares
No space for wheelchair/walkers
Imprisonment because of ticketing
Over-ticketing / over-policing
Continued on next page
Barriers in Accessing Transit
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

SERVICE ISSUES
DIFFICULTY
ACCESSING
MEDICAL, DENTAL
DIFFICULTY
ACCESSING
CHILDCARE
DIFFICULTY
ACCESSING
EMPLOYMENT
DIFFICULTY
ACCESSING
FOOD
CULTURE,
RECREATION +
SOCIAL ISOLATION
Long time for transfers
Long distances to transit
Delay, skip appointments
Can’t access regular childcare
Need to transport equipment
Can’t access food banks
Can’t participate in social activities
No transit for shift / o-hours work
Can’t access specific stores (cultural)
Diiculty accessing recreational, leisure
Low density, services far apart
Service is not reliable
Long times to take transit
Negative impact on health
Childcare options limited because of transit
Need to travel to dierent sites
Can’t access general grocery stores
Can’t visit friends / family
No transit to / from job locations
Diiculty transporting food home
Lack of access to settlement services (immigrant)
Access to religious institutions
Negative impact on diet / health
Lack of sense of community
Access to cultural groups and institutions
Only available for part of trip
Service unavailable
Poor quality amenities
Service unavailable at time / day needed
APPENDIX B: CODEBOOK
IMPACT OF POOR TRANSIT ACCESS
Public Transit and Equity-Deserving Groups: Understanding Lived Experiences

LACK OF
EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITIES
MENTAL HEALTH
IMPACTS
LACK OF SAFETY
ON TRANSIT
SAFETY IMPACTED
BY LACK
OF TRANSIT
UNABLE TO
ACCESS
ESSENTIAL
GOODS / SERVICES
Can’t participate in extra-curricular activities
Anxiety with finding rides from others
Harassment from other passengers
Lack of transit options specific to domestic violence
No transit to education sites
Stress / anxiety associated with transit
Lack of safety getting to transit
Using unsafe travel because no transit (i.e. hitchhiking)
Violence
Lack of access to language training
Depression, isolation
Harassment / discrimination from drivers / sta
Staying in unsafe place because no transit
Transit timing doesn’t work
APPENDIX B: CODEBOOK
... Some of the latest research on trends in the use of public transportation and transit accessibility in U.S. cities (e.g., Merlin, Singer and Levine, 2021;Wasserman and Taylor, 2022;Bunten et al., 2023) does not provide any gender dimension. However, studies about transportation mode dedicated to certain segments of women, such as single mothers (Sultana, 2003;Maciejewska, McLafferty and Preston 2019), or that specifically attend to the transit safety needs of women and female-presenting peoples (Babbar et al., 2022) reinforce the importance of responding to women's heterogeneous travel realities (see also Kaufman, Polack and Campbell, 2018;Linovski, Dorries and Simpson, 2021). In general, Black workers, especially women, are still most likely to rely on transit and commute longer (e.g., Mitra and Saphores, 2019;Dilmaghani, 2022), even though variations in commute length and mode have been noted based on immigration status and ethnic background. ...
... A much higher percentage of low-income women of colour already have precarious socioeconomic and transportation conditions. To ensure that these commuters are not further burdened, it is necessary to develop appropriate policies that address workers' mobility experiences (e.g., Kim and Kwan, 2019;Liu and Kwan, 2020;Linovski, Dorries and Simpson, 2021). ...
... Justice should integrate practice, context, and engagement [52]. For example, some equity studies directly interviewed the structurally disadvantaged, like LGBTQ+ riders [53]. Karner et al. [31] argued that integrating a society-centric approach into top-down state efforts and reinforcing grassroots community organizing is key to initiating transportation justice. ...
Article
Full-text available
The deployment of public electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) is a critical component of transportation electrification. Recent studies have highlighted growing concerns about disparities in accessibility to public chargers between different demographic groups. This research expands ongoing equity concerns by contextualizing existing transportation equity discourse and analyzing public charger access disparities in Austin, Texas. Using threshold equity toolkits, we investigated public EVCS access disparity across different races and income groups. We conducted a generalized additive model regression to measure and visualize the effects of possible determinants on public EVCS access. The analysis results revealed that a public EVCS access disparity exists in Austin, with most chargers being installed in areas where the majority of the population is Non-Hispanic White. There was a more equal distribution of public EVCSs across income quartiles when compared with race. However, middle- and high-income groups had better access than lower-income communities in terms of distance to the nearest public EVCSs. Our regression analysis found that regional and socio-demographic factors, such as race and income, have a statistically significant impact on public charger access. The regression analysis also revealed that Austin’s current public EVCS deployment seems to favor communities above the poverty level and with higher numbers of registered electric vehicles. Local policymakers should reflect on the findings of this study to develop an equitable transportation electrification plan. Federal environmental justice plans such as the Justice40 initiative can benefit from incorporating more local contexts to better invest in disadvantaged communities.
... In CapaCITY/É, we define equity-deserving populations as population groups (spatial and/or social) that face structural challenges around equitable access and resources related to mobility. 76 Equity-deserving populations often include racialised people, Indigenous people, people experiencing disability, people with diverse body sizes, women and people with diverse gender identities, people with low incomes, children and youth, and older adults. Informed by transportation justice, 77-79 public health perspectives 80 and intersectionality in lived experiences, 81 our work will consider how procedural and distributional inequities in sustainable transportation interventions contribute to inequities in health outcomes. ...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Improving sustainable transportation options will help cities tackle growing challenges related to population health, congestion, climate change and inequity. Interventions supporting active transportation face many practical and political hurdles. Implementation science aims to understand how interventions or policies arise, how they can be translated to new contexts or scales and who benefits. Sustainable transportation interventions are complex, and existing implementation science frameworks may not be suitable. To apply and adapt implementation science for healthy cities, we have launched our mixed-methods research programme, CapaCITY/É. We aim to understand how, why and for whom sustainable transportation interventions are successful and when they are not. Methods and analysis Across nine Canadian municipalities and the State of Victoria (Australia), our research will focus on two types of sustainable transportation interventions: all ages and abilities bicycle networks and motor vehicle speed management interventions. We will (1) document the implementation process and outcomes of both types of sustainable transportation interventions; (2) examine equity, health and mobility impacts of these interventions; (3) advance implementation science by developing a novel sustainable transportation implementation science framework and (4) develop tools for scaling up and scaling out sustainable transportation interventions. Training activities will develop interdisciplinary scholars and practitioners able to work at the nexus of academia and sustainable cities. Ethics and dissemination This study received approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Ethics Research (H22-03469). A Knowledge Mobilization Hub will coordinate dissemination of findings via a website; presentations to academic, community organisations and practitioner audiences; and through peer-reviewed articles.
... walking or biking) struggled to access services because of the poor walkability of their neighbourhoods. Similarly, Linovski et al. (2021) found that the residents of suburban areas tend to underutilize public transit because of the length of trips and lack of stops within walking distance. These constitute a transportation-related barrier to healthcare access for residents of suburban areas. ...
Article
Full-text available
Aim To identify predictors of transportation-related barriers to healthcare access in a North American suburb. Subject and methods Data from the 2022 Scarborough Survey were used, comprising n = 528 adults living in Scarborough, which is a subu<rb of Toronto, Canada, recruited through iterative sampling. Log binomial regression models identified demographic, socioeconomic, health and transportation predictors of a composite of: (1) delaying a primary care appointment, (2) missing a primary care appointment or (3) postponing or declining a vaccination due to transportation issues. Results Of the sampled individuals, 34.5% experienced the outcome. In the multivariable model, younger age (RR = 3.03), disability (RR = 2.60), poor mental health (RR = 1.70) and reliance on public transit (RR = 2.09) were associated with greater risk of experiencing the outcome. Full-time employment, reliance on active travel and reliance on others for transportation were specifically associated with greater risk of experiencing a transportation-related barrier to vaccination. Conclusion In suburban areas such as Scarborough, transportation-related barriers to healthcare access have a disproportionate impact on groups defined by important demographic, health and transportation-related characteristics. These results corroborate that transportation is an important determinant of health in suburban areas, the absence of which may exacerbate existing inequities among the most vulnerable individuals in a given population.
... While not covering all options for conceptualizing transportation equity, this provided a way of understanding how equity principles could be integrated in policy development. Questions about transportation barriers that participants face in travelling were not a focus of the community-led survey, perhaps because these are already well known in the community (e.g., 38). ...
Article
Despite years of legally mandated public engagement for transportation planning, there is often little evidence that this results in more equitable processes or outcomes. Recently, there has been interest in improving engagement by having community-based or advocacy groups design, lead, and implement public engagement activities. This research examines two separate engagement processes—one led by a public agency, and one designed and carried out by community advocates—to understand the opportunities and barriers for community-led engagement in transportation planning. We assess how these processes differed in: (1) representation of equity-deserving groups in respondents, (2) conceptualization of equity and community needs, and (3) transportation priorities identified in the surveys. While neither process fully reflected city demographics, the community-led process was more representative of equity-deserving groups. We found key differences in priorities between the community- and agency-led surveys, and by respondent identity. Areas that were identified as a high priority in the agency-led survey, such as traffic congestion, were lowly ranked in the community-led survey, as respondents prioritized safety and lower fares. Critically, community- and agency-led processes used substantially different framings of transportation equity, along with different understandings of community needs and experiences, which could have a significant impact on the development of future transportation plans. Community-led strategies require significant resources and capacity to undertake, but meaningful participation in the design and implementation of engagement processes has the potential to better engage a diversity of perspectives and reflect community priorities.
Article
Full-text available
Objective Transportation is a critical health determinant, yet the last decade has witnessed rapid disinvestment across Canada (particularly in rural contexts) with negative health consequences. We sought to explore and describe the benefits and challenges faced in operating the first community-driven free-transportation scheme in Saskatchewan that emerged in response to widespread unavailability of public transportation due to budget cuts (austerity). Methods We conducted a mixed-methods community-based participatory research study involving 22 interviews with bus riders and service administrators. We also performed descriptive statistics and chi-squared analyses on bus rider data (data on 1185 trips routinely collected between July 2023 and December 2023) to explore sociodemographic characteristics and trip purposes of bus riders. Results All trips were completed by 616 community members using the free bus service between July 2023 and December 2023. Community members took an average of 5 trips (median = 2.0) with a maximum of 22 trips being taken by one community member (1.9% of all trips). Most trips were by women (53%), and older adults mostly used the free bus for medical purposes (22% of riders were older adults and 34% of these used the bus for medical reasons). Qualitatively, the bus service has increased access to care and promotes social participation and autonomy, especially for older adults. The service however faces some challenges, including funding disruptions and difficulty recruiting and retaining drivers. Conclusion Free inter-community transportation (i.e. transportation across cities and municipalities) promotes health equity and access. In contexts without access to public transportation, governments could support community-driven initiatives through increased funding.
Article
How and why do zero-car households seek car access? We used a national online survey of 830 American adults and interviews with twenty-nine low- and moderate-income travelers about their car access behaviors to answer this question. We validated our findings with the 2017 National Household Travel Survey. Respondents got rides, borrowed cars, and used ride-hail to access grocery trips, social/recreational activities, and medical care. While most interviewees intend to purchase a vehicle in the future, they also desire better transit, suggesting that households without cars do not necessarily prefer car ownership.
Article
Full-text available
Cities around the world are responding to aging populations and equity concerns for older people by developing age-friendly communities plans, following the World Health Organization’s guidelines. Such plans, however, often fail to account for the wide diversity of older people in cities, with the result that some older people, including Indigenous older people, do not see their needs reflected in age-friendly planning and policies. This article reports on a study involving 10 older First Nations and Métis women in the city of Prince George, Canada, comparing the expressed needs of these women with two age-friendly action plans: that of the city of Prince George, and that of the Northern Health Authority. Four main categories were raised in a group discussion and interview with these women at the Prince George Native Friendship Centre: availability of health care services, accessibility and affordability of programs and services, special roles of Indigenous Elders, and experiences of racism and discrimination. There are many areas of synergy between the needs expressed by the women and the two action plans; however, certain key areas are missing from the action plans; in particular, specific strategies for attending to the needs of Indigenous and other older populations who often feel marginalized in health care and in age-friendly planning.
Article
Full-text available
Background Studies show that different socio-economic and structural factors can limit access to healthcare for women with disabilities. The aim of the current study was to review barriers in access to healthcare services for women with disabilities (WWD) internationally. Methods We conducted a systematic review of relevant qualitative articles in PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases from January 2009 to December 2017. The search strategy was based on two main topics: (1) access to healthcare; and (2) disability. In this review, women (older than 18) with different kinds of disabilities (physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities) were included. Studies were excluded if they were not peer-reviewed, and had a focus on men with disabilities. Results Twenty four articles met the inclusion criteria for the final review. In each study, participants noted various barriers to accessing healthcare. Findings revealed that WWD faced different sociocultural (erroneous assumptions, negative attitudes, being ignored, being judged, violence, abuse, insult, impoliteness, and low health literacy), financial (poverty, unemployment, high transportation costs) and structural (lack of insurance coverage, inaccessible equipment and transportation facilities, lack of knowledge, lack of information, lack of transparency, and communicative problems) factors which impacted their access healthcare. Conclusions Healthcare systems need to train the healthcare workforce to respect WWD, pay attention to their preferences and choices, provide non-discriminatory and respectful treatment, and address stigmatizing attitudinal towards WWD. In addition, families and communities need to participate in advocacy efforts to promote WWD’s access to health care.
Article
Full-text available
Background Social participation is restricted for approximately half the older adult population but is critical in fostering community vitality, promoting health, and preventing disabilities. Although targeted through interventions by community organizations, healthcare professionals and municipalities, little is known about the needs of older adults to participate socially, especially in rural areas. This study thus aimed to identify and prioritize the social participation needs of older adults living in a rural regional county municipality. Methods A participatory action research was conducted in a rural regional county municipality (RCM) in Quebec, Canada, with a convenience sample of 139 stakeholders, including older adults, caregivers, healthcare and community organization managers, healthcare and community organization workers, community partners and key informants. Results Facilitators and barriers to social participation are related to personal factors (e.g., health, interests, motivation), the social environment (e.g., availability of assistance or volunteers) and the physical environment (e.g., distance to resources, recreational facilities and social partners). Nine older adults’ needs emerged and were prioritized as follows: 1) having access to and being informed about transportation options, 2) being informed about available activities and services, 3) having access to activities, including volunteering opportunities, suited to their interests, schedule, cost, language and health condition, 4) being accompanied to activities, 5) having access to meeting places near home and adapted to their health condition, and 6–9 (no preferred order) being reached when isolated, being personally invited and welcomed to activities, having a social support network, and being valued and recognized. Differences emerged when prioritizing needs of older adults with disabilities (greater need for assistance, accessibility and adapted activities) and older adults living in a rural area (greater need for transportation). Conclusions To promote active participation in the community, the social participation needs of older women and men living in rural areas must be addressed, especially in regard to transportation, information, adapted activities, assistance and accessibility. The first part of this action research will be followed by community selection and implementation of initiatives designed to ultimately foster their social participation.
Article
Full-text available
This article examines findings from a qualitative study exploring the experiences of young adults with disabilities regarding their perceptions of interpersonal discrimination on public transport in two Australian states. Interpersonal discrimination by members of the public included contests for accessible seating, receiving unwanted physical assistance, bullying and intimidation. Participants reported that transport staff engaged in verbal abuse and hostile interactions including questioning the young person’s disability. These experiences appeared to be influenced by narrow perceptions of disability, visibility or otherwise of the young person’s impairment, limited understanding of the needs of young people with disabilities, and the age and gender of the person behaving in a discriminatory way. The discriminatory experiences were reported to have had a negative impact on the social and economic participation of these young adults in their communities. • The participants of the study disclosed diverse experiences of interpersonal discrimination by the travelling public and transport officials. • Interpersonal discrimination impacted on some of the young adults’ capacity to move about freely, as they sought to avoid exposure to prejudicial attitudes and verbal abuse. • Heightened concerns about getting to and from activities safely affected the young adults’ willingness to use public transport for their daily activities. • Eliminating day-to-day interpersonal discrimination that young adults with disabilities experience on public transport requires legislative, policy and societal change.
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Understanding barriers in primary health care access faced by Canadian immigrants, especially among women, is important for developing mitigation strategies. The aim of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of perceived challenges and unmet primary health care access needs of Bangladeshi immigrant women in Canada. Methods In this qualitative study, we conducted 7 focus groups among a sample of 42 first-generation immigrant women on their experiences in primary health care access in their preferred language, Bangla. Descriptive analysis was used for their socio-demographic characteristics and inductive thematic analysis was applied to the qualitative data. Results The hurdles reported included long wait time at emergency service points, frustration from slow treatment process, economic losses resulting from absence at work, communication gap between physicians and immigrant patients, and transportation problem to go to the health care centers. No access to medical records for walk-in doctors, lack of urgent care, and lack of knowledge about Canadian health care systems are a few of other barriers emerged from the focus group discussions. Conclusions The community perception about lack of primary health care resources is quite prevalent and is considered as one of the most important barriers by the grassroots community members.
Article
Full-text available
Parents with physical disabilities face challenges in their relationships with perinatal and early childhood services. This paper aims to better understand the experiences and needs of parents with physical disabilities regarding perinatal and early childhood services in the public healthcare system in Quebec, Canada. We also describe how adequately current services meet the needs of these individuals. Thirteen interviews were conducted with ten mothers and three fathers with physical disabilities. Results indicate challenges in various phases of the parental experience: the decision to have a child and conception; pregnancy follow-up; delivery; postnatal care and parental practices. The main issues reported by participants involved access to information and professionals’ attitudes. Participants also emphasized the importance of keeping control over the parenting process. As there is a growing interest in the questions surrounding parents with disabilities in Quebec, this study can provide useful insights for community organizations and political stakeholders. • Points of interests • Parents with physical disabilities report needs at various stages in their parental experience: the decision to have a child and conception, pregnancy follow-up, delivery, postnatal care and parental practices. • Parents ask to be provided with appropriate information and to be part of the decision-making process during the delivery and with regards to child care. • Professional services may fail to address parents’ needs. • Inclusive services would provide support for parents with physical disabilities surrounding both the medical, and the social aspects of their parenthood. Services of this nature could lead to positive outcomes in their parental practices.
Article
Problem, research strategy, and findings Millions of North Americans stopped riding public transit in response to COVID-19. We treat this crisis as a natural experiment to illustrate the importance of public transit in riders’ abilities to access essential destinations. We measured the impacts of riders forgoing transit through a survey of transportation barriers completed by more than 4,000 transit riders in Toronto and Vancouver (Canada). We used Heckman selection models to predict six dimensions of transport disadvantage and transport-related social exclusions captured in our survey. We then complemented model results with an analysis of survey comments describing barriers that individuals faced. Lack of access to alternative modes is the strongest predictor of a former rider experiencing transport disadvantage, particularly neighborhood walkability and vehicle ownership. Groups at risk of transport disadvantage before COVID-19, particularly women and people in poorer health, were also more likely to report difficulties while avoiding public transit. Barriers described by respondents included former supports no longer offering rides, gendered household car use dynamics, and lack of culturally specific or specialized amenities within walking distance. Takeaway for practice Policymakers should plan for a level of redundancy in transportation systems that enables residents to access essential destinations when unexpected service losses occur. Designing communities that enable residents to walk to those essential destinations will help reduce the burdens faced by transit riders during crises that render transit unfeasible. At the same time, planners championing active travel as an alternative to transit during such crises also need to devise solutions for former transit riders for whom active travel is ill suited, for example, due to physical challenges with carrying groceries or needing to chaperone children.
Article
This study demonstrates that racially disparate fare evasion citation outcomes are the product of racialized social systems that allow transit police officers to determine the belongingness of Black riders in systems of mass transit. Using citation data from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, we test the impact of race and place attributes on transit officer decisions to allocate punishment for subway fare evasion using mixed effects logistic regression controlling for individual and contextual predictors. Although rider racial identity alone proves statistically irrelevant, Black riders suspected of fare evasion possess an elevated risk for being fined as opposed to merely being warned at stations located within predominately white neighborhoods and as stations increase in ridership. These findings demonstrate how transit police officer discretion challenges Black belongingness on systems of public transportation. Broader implications of this work include the importance of scholarship linking statistical disparities to organizational intent and integrating diverse voices in policing policy development.
Article
Aging and the presence of one or more illnesses result in limited travel for many adults age 65 and over. Yet, the need to get to essential, social, and non-emergency medical destinations endures. At some point in their life, older adults become dependent on family/friends, or rely on for-profit/not-for-profit transportation services for their mobility needs, while some do not go on certain trips. Researchers have studied out-of-home activity and mobility of older adults using data on trips taken. There is a gap, however, in understanding trips not taken in the older adult population in rural versus urban locations. Our objectives in this paper are: (i) to investigate unmet travel needs of older adults by relying on responses for trips not taken; (ii) to examine how personal abilities, living situation, and socio-demographic factors are associated with trips not taken to various destinations; and (iii) to compare the likelihood of trips not taken due to lack of a ride in urban versus rural locations across the age and income spectrum. Our data come from a phone survey conducted across the province of Alberta, Canada, in 2017–18 (n = 1390). We specify ordinal logistic models where the dependent variable is how often a respondent did not undertake a trip due to not having a ride to various trip destinations. We find that rural seniors are more likely to not take trips compared to older adults in cities, holding all else equal including driving cessation, worsening health, and disability. Rural seniors who live alone or in low-density housing are also more likely to not take trips compared to urban older adults. Household income, however, tempers these location preferences. Our findings suggest that rural older adults can be supported through income transfers, community-based low-cost travel, and moving to higher-density residential locations.