In 1956, the Interstate Highway Act was passed. This law was designed to provide the nation with a modern and effective highway system. At the time of the law's passage, few could envision the dramatic impact that the highway system would have on the economic and social structure of the American society. Development has followed the highway system because of its easy access, and many businesses and essential services have relocated from the inner cities to the outlying suburbs. This migration has included employment, health care, educational institutions, shopping, and social services. Despite the broad availability of the automobile, considerable segments of the population do not have access to the highway network because they do not own a car. These segments of the population, which include the nation's youth, the elderly, and low-income groups, remain dependent on public transportation systems. However, public transportation systems have not kept pace with changing land use patterns and, as a result, many transit-dependent users now find fewer essential destinations available to them.

This lack of personal mobility has economic, social, and human costs, such as higher unemployment, reduced tax revenue, greater welfare and medical costs, and limited social potential. There is a need to define and measure the economic, social, and human costs of personal immobility and to identify public transportation services that will help reduce such costs. For the purposes of this project, the public transportation system is broadly defined to include publicly operated rail, bus, and light rail systems; school bus systems; social service agency transportation; paratransit; jitneys; private bus systems; and taxicabs. Many of these transportation services have specific trip purposes, and eligibility is sometimes limited to specific groups. However, some communities have effectively used various combinations of transportation services to reduce personal immobility.

The objectives of this research were to (1) develop a model(s) that will assist regions to estimate the economic, social, and human costs of personal immobility and (2) identify or develop public transportation practices to reduce such costs. The products developed as a result of this research will assist decision makers and transportation-service providers in using their services more effectively to address the issue of personal immobility. This research considered rural, suburban, and urban settings.

Status: The final report has been published as TCRP Report 49, "Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social, and Human Costs of Personal Immobility," and is available in portable document format (PDF). (A free copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader is available at https://www.adobe.com.) PLEASE NOTE: Because of the very large size of this file, it may take a long time--possibly more than 1 hour collectively--to download. We regret the inconvenience.


The contractor's case studies have been published as TCRP Web Document 7.