Examining the empirical evidence of transport inequality in the US and UK

Abstract

This chapter describes how it is important to first gain a better understanding of the inequalities that arise from the present system of transport delivery in order to argue the case of taking a social policy approach to transport. The chapter presents the statistical and qualitative evidence for this in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). However, it should be noted that distributional inequities in and of themselves do not necessarily justify the need for social policy intervention. It is generally accepted that such intervention is only appropriate where the welfare of citizens is already, or may become, underminded. With this in mind, the later sections of the chapter examine the evidence for this with particular emphasis on the effects of transport inequalities on people’s ability to access the key activities, which are considered essential to the welfare of citizens, namely employment, education and training, healthcare and social, leisure and cultural activities.