Transportation Insecurity in the United States: A Descriptive Portrait

Abstract

Transportation insecurity is a condition in which a person is unable to regularly move from place to place in a safe or timely manner and has important implications for the study of poverty and inequality. Drawing on nationally representative survey data and a new, validated measure of transportation insecurity, the Transportation Security Index, the authors provide the first descriptive portrait of transportation insecurity in the United States, offering national estimates, examining which demographic groups are most likely to experience this condition and considering what factors are correlated with it. The authors find that one in four adults experience transportation insecurity. Adults who live in poverty, do not own cars, live in urban areas, are younger, have less education, and are non-White experience the greatest transportation insecurity. Correlates analyses largely confirm these descriptive differences. Such high rates and large disparities suggest that greater investigation into this form of material hardship is warranted.