The most important benefit of a transportation system is the access it provides to opportunity – economic, educational, health care, civic life, and simple freedom of movement. Lack of adequate access to transportation hinders these opportunities.
Despite the variety of transit services across Connecticut,
These interactive figures identify communities across Connecticut that are most underserved and most sensitive to the quality of four transportation metrics: access to public transit, transit headways, neighborhood walkability, and transportation cost burden.
Map of Census block groups with the highest concentrations of one or more priority populations AND no bus stops within 1 mile.
Map of Census block groups with the highest concentrations of one or more priority populations AND highest average bus headways in the state.
Map of Census block groups with the highest concentrations of one or more priority populations AND least walkable scores.
Map of Census block groups with the highest concentrations of one or more priority populations AND highest transportation cost burden as a percentage of household income.
These maps show communities (i.e. Census Block Groups) with high percentages of one or more priority population groups (80th percentile for the state) AND that experience the highest transportation burdens for specific metrics of transportation access and adequacy. The three transportation metrics highlighted here include: no physical access to bus service (i.e., live 1+ miles from the nearest bus stop), average bus headways in the 80th percentile for those with physical access (i.e., 203.1+ minutes), neighborhood walkability scores in the ‘least walkable’ category (i.e., Walkability score of 5.7 or lower), and transportation cost burdens in the 80th percentile (i.e., 23.8% or more of household income). These metrics are four of the eight transportation metrics used to calculate cumulative Transport burdens.
Priority populations represent demographic groups that environmental justice policy and research have identified as being especially vulnerable to environmental burdens as a consequence of social or economic disadvantage, physical vulnerability, or historic and persistent discrimination and inequality. These include:
Metrics of transportation access and adequacy:
Bus Access: A resident is considered to have bus access if they are within one-quarter mile of a bus stop. This geographic definition of access is consistent with FTA Circular 4702.1B Title VI Requirements and Guidelines for Federal Transit Administration Recipients, Chapter IV-14. For the purposes of this analysis, populations living more than 1 mile from the nearest bus stop are considered to have no reasonable access to bus service. Physical access does not necessarily imply adequate accessibility, since it is not clear if the nearest transit stops offer service to desired destinations. Lack of basic physical access to transit offers a simple measure of areas and groups of people who lack access to even the most basic benefits of public transit.
Bus Headways: For those who have access to transit, the quality of access to public transit can be assessed by the level or frequency of service, which is measured by “headway.” Headway describes the time between transit vehicle arrivals at a transit stop. For example, a bus route with a 15-minute headway would mean that the bus arrives at a given stop four times an hour (it’s frequency), or once every 15 minutes. Transit headways are affected by the scheduled frequency of service, the number of vehicles on a given route, traffic delays, and dispatch management of vehicle spacing. Headways are significant for transit dependent populations and can affect the quality of life and economic opportunities of transit riders. Headways analyzed here are based on static schedules provided by the transit agency through the General Transit Feed System (GTFS). Headways are weekday averages for each bus stop from 6am to 9pm.
Walkability: More walkable communities are positively associated with a variety of quality of life and public health benefits. Conversely, less walkable communities are associated with a range of public health challenges, including higher rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The National Walkability Index is a nationwide geographic data resource produced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that ranks Census Block Groups according to their relative walkability. Walkability was modeled based on characteristics of the built environment that influence the likelihood of walking being used as a mode of travel.
Transportation Cost Burden: Transportation is the second-largest expenditure category for American households, approximately 16% of annual expenditures on average between 2015 and 2018. Only housing costs (~32%) exceed those of transportation. Transportation costs can be significant economic burdens for moderate and lower income households. For many working-class and rural households, transportation costs exceed housing costs. Transportation cost burden is the percentage of household income for a moderate income household that would be needed to cover transportation costs. These estimated costs are derived from the Location Affordability Index Model Version 3 (LAIM3) developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Department of Transportation.
Percentage of population groups within 1/4 mile (400 meters) of a bus stop across Connecticut.
Population-weighted average bus headways for groups within 400 meters of a bus stop across Connecticut.
Population-weighted average walkability index scores for groups across Connecticut.
Population-weighted average transportation cost burden as a percentage of household income for groups across Connecticut.
These graphs show population-weighted access and burden by group for the following transportation metrics:
Bus Access: A resident is considered to have bus access if they are within one-quarter mile of a bus stop. This geographic definition of access is consistent with FTA Circular 4702.1B Title VI Requirements and Guidelines for Federal Transit Administration Recipients, Chapter IV-14. Physical access does not necessarily imply adequate accessibility, since it is not clear if the nearest transit stops offer service to desired destinations. Lack of basic physical access to transit offers a simple measure of areas and groups of people who lack access to even the most basic benefits of public transit.
Bus Headways: For those who have access to transit, the quality of access to public transit can be assessed by the level or frequency of service, which is measured by “headway.” Headway describes the time between transit vehicle arrivals at a transit stop. For example, a bus route with a 15-minute headway would mean that the bus arrives at a given stop four times an hour (it’s frequency), or once every 15 minutes. Transit headways are affected by the scheduled frequency of service, the number of vehicles on a given route, traffic delays, and dispatch management of vehicle spacing. Headways are significant for transit dependent populations and can affect the quality of life and economic opportunities of transit riders. Headways analyzed here are based on static schedules provided by the transit agency through the General Transit Feed System (GTFS). Headways are weekday averages for each bus stop from 6am to 9pm.
Walkability: More walkable communities are positively associated with a variety of quality of life and public health benefits. Conversely, less walkable communities are associated with a range of public health challenges, including higher rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The National Walkability Index is a nationwide geographic data resource produced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that ranks Census Block Groups according to their relative walkability. Walkability was modeled based on characteristics of the built environment that influence the likelihood of walking being used as a mode of travel.
Transportation Cost Burden: Transportation is the second-largest expenditure category for American households, approximately 16% of annual expenditures on average between 2015 and 2018. Only housing costs (~32%) exceed those of transportation. Transportation costs can be significant economic burdens for moderate and lower income households. For many working-class and rural households, transportation costs exceed housing costs. Transportation cost burden is the percentage of household income for a moderate income household that would be needed to cover transportation costs. These estimated costs are derived from the Location Affordability Index Model Version 3 (LAIM3) developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Department of Transportation.
For example, adults over the age of 64 (i.e., ‘Over 64’) in the state reside in Census block groups that experience population-weighted average bus headways of over 139.9 minutes. Compare this to the state average (i.e., Total Pop) of 139.9 minutes on average between buses for those with access to bus stops.
These tables show four separate measures of transport accessibility or adequacy:
Pct Bus Access. Average percentage of the general population within walking distance of a bus stop for Census block groups in that jurisdiction.
Avg Headway. Average headway (i.e., time between bus arrivals) for Census block groups in that jurisdiction.
Avg Walkability. The average walkability score, according to the EPA’s National Walkability Index, of Census block groups in the jurisdiction. Scores range from 1 to 20, with higher scores indicating more walkable neighborhoods. Scores above 10.5 are considered “above average walkable.” Scores below 5.7 are considered “least walkable.”
Avg Transport Cost Burden. Average percentage of household income for a moderate income household that would be needed to cover transportation costs. Nationally, households spend approximately 16% of their income on transportation.