What broader impacts resulted from alleviating transport poverty?
Limited and/or short-term UBM-inspired pilots cannot be expected to repair the far-reaching negative impacts of transportation poverty that participants may have been experiencing over many years, but there were some promising findings about the potential broad benefits of UBM.
““It [the e-bike] made work a little bit better, because I had something to rely on. I didn't have to worry about either calling a ride or anything…”
A majority of participants in both pilots reported that the mobility programs improved their:
- Ability to take care of basic needs (Oakland: 86%; Bakersfield: 79%)
- Ability to get or keep a job (Oakland: 50%, or 58% when excluding NA responses; Bakersfield: 64%)
- Social relationships (Oakland: 56%; Bakersfield: 86%)
- Opportunities for recreation or exercise (Oakland: 56%; Bakersfield: 71%)
- Ability to save money (Oakland: 94%; Bakersfield: 86%)
Around one-third of participants surveyed in each city (35% in Oakland and 29% in Bakersfield) said the pilots kept them from needing to borrow money from friends or family. Only a small minority mentioned negative economic impacts; specifically, two participants in Oakland: (1) “I couldn't use it for rideshare so I would have to spend more money on places Bart couldn't take me”, and (2) “Probably spent more money when I was out”); and one in Bakersfield, (1) “Had to spend on transportation last minute when service not reliable”.
“[Being in the program] it’s less stress on my part because once I have the funds, I just put in $100 on the card so I don't have to worry about stopping and adding funds to my clipper, stuff like that. I just go in and out and just not feel the stress.”-- Oakland, 34yo hispanic/latino woman
Oakland pilot participants reported higher satisfaction with life in the second survey compared to the first, using a 0-10 rating called the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Their average score moved from 5.7 to 6.7. There was no change for Bakersfield participants, whose average score at both timepoints was 6.4.
There were no impacts of the pilots on participant physical or mental health per a 1-item scale for physical health compared to others your age and the Kessler-10 (Oakland) or Mental Health Index-5 (Bakersfield), respectively. Kessler-10 and MHI-5 socres in both pre- and post-pilot survey responses indicated high rates of psychological distress (anxiety and depression) among participants. However, the interviews did reveal some important benefits of the pilots with regard to participants’ anxiety and depression.
More comprehensive and long-term programs with improved design based on lessons learned in these and other pilots could very likely move the needle on these big issues for the many people facing transportation poverty in California and elsewhere.