Transport disadvantage and social inclusion: Exploring the role of smartphone use for transport purposes

The link between transport disadvantage and social exclusion is now firmly-established. Smartphones emerge as an integral part of daily life with a strong potential to influence this link by improving people’s capacity to access transport information and availability, and enabling direct connections with others in society. However, the role of smartphone use for transport purposes in influencing people’s daily mobility and quality of life remains under-studied, in part impeding a more concrete discourse on how it can be better evaluated and considered in policymaking. This study seeks to shed light on the above issue through probing into the interrelationships among smartphone use, transport disadvantage and social inclusion, and their relation to subjective well-being. Using Beijing as a case study, we tested a series of hypotheses through structural equation models (SEM). Our findings highlighted potentially bidirectional interactions between smartphone use and transport disadvantage. By and large, smartphone use for both normal purposes and new modes can help mitigate transport disadvantage, and this may further stimulate more smartphone use as a proactive solution. Furthermore, the link between smartphone use for new modes and transport cost, and their consequent effect on social inclusion and subjective well-being were found to vary between low- and high-income groups. Findings suggest that smartphones and smart apps should be carefully integrated in policymaking to reduce the risk for people of being socially excluded due to a lack of transport options and improve subjective well-being.