IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v189y2024ics096585642400288x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Tao, Sui
  • Kamruzzaman, Liton
  • Ma, Jing

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Tao, Sui & Kamruzzaman, Liton & Ma, Jing, 2024. "Transport disadvantage and social inclusion: Exploring the role of smartphone use for transport purposes," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:189:y:2024:i:c:s096585642400288x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2024.104240
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096585642400288X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2024.104240?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Line, Tilly & Jain, Juliet & Lyons, Glenn, 2011. "The role of ICTs in everyday mobile lives," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1490-1499.
    2. Hong, Jinhyun & Thakuriah, Piyushimita Vonu, 2018. "Examining the relationship between different urbanization settings, smartphone use to access the Internet and trip frequencies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 11-18.
    3. Delbosc, Alexa & Currie, Graham, 2011. "Transport problems that matter – social and psychological links to transport disadvantage," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 170-178.
    4. Graham Currie & Alexa Delbosc, 2010. "Modelling the social and psychological impacts of transport disadvantage," Transportation, Springer, vol. 37(6), pages 953-966, November.
    5. Zhang, Mengzhu & Zhao, Pengjun, 2021. "Literature review on urban transport equity in transitional China: From empirical studies to universal knowledge," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    6. John Stanley & David A. Hensher & Janet Stanley & Graham Currie & William H. Greene & Dianne Vella-Brodrick, 2011. "Social Exclusion and the Value of Mobility," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 45(2), pages 197-222, May.
    7. Ding, Ning & Berry, Helen L. & O'Brien, Léan V., 2015. "One-year reciprocal relationship between community participation and mental wellbeing in Australia: A panel analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 246-254.
    8. Elvira Cicognani & Claudia Pirini & Corey Keyes & Mohsen Joshanloo & Reza Rostami & Masoud Nosratabadi, 2008. "Social Participation, Sense of Community and Social Well Being: A Study on American, Italian and Iranian University Students," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(1), pages 97-112, October.
    9. He, Sylvia Y. & Thøgersen, John & Cheung, Yannie H.Y. & Yu, Alesia H.Y., 2020. "Ageing in a transit-oriented city: Satisfaction with transport, social inclusion and wellbeing," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 85-94.
    10. Shibayama, Takeru & Emberger, Günter, 2020. "New mobility services: Taxonomy, innovation and the role of ICTs," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 79-90.
    11. Tao, Sui & He, Sylvia Y. & Kwan, Mei-Po & Luo, Shuli, 2020. "Does low income translate into lower mobility? An investigation of activity space in Hong Kong between 2002 and 2011," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    12. Tieshan Sun, 2020. "A longitudinal study of changes in intra-metropolitan employment concentration in Beijing: Decentralisation, reconcentration and polycentrification," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(4), pages 748-765, March.
    13. Ahern, Aoife & Vega, Amaya & Caulfield, Brian, 2016. "Deprivation and access to work in Dublin City: The impact of transport disadvantage," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 44-52.
    14. Groth, Sören, 2019. "Multimodal divide: Reproduction of transport poverty in smart mobility trends," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 56-71.
    15. Anne Durand & Toon Zijlstra & Niels van Oort & Sascha Hoogendoorn-Lanser & Serge Hoogendoorn, 2022. "Access denied? Digital inequality in transport services," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 32-57, January.
    16. Kamruzzaman, Md. & Hine, Julian, 2011. "Participation index: a measure to identify rural transport disadvantage?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 882-899.
    17. Tao, Sui & Cheng, Long & He, Sylvia & Witlox, Frank, 2023. "Examining the non-linear effects of transit accessibility on daily trip duration: A focus on the low-income population," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    18. Zhang, Mengzhu & Zhao, Pengjun & Qiao, Si, 2020. "Smartness-induced transport inequality: Privacy concern, lacking knowledge of smartphone use and unequal access to transport information," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 175-185.
    19. Reinie Cordier & Ben Milbourn & Robyn Martin & Angus Buchanan & Donna Chung & Renée Speyer, 2017. "A systematic review evaluating the psychometric properties of measures of social inclusion," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(6), pages 1-37, June.
    20. Lucas, Karen, 2012. "Transport and social exclusion: Where are we now?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 105-113.
    21. Patricia L. Mokhtarian, 2019. "Subjective well-being and travel: retrospect and prospect," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 493-513, April.
    22. Velaga, Nagendra R. & Beecroft, Mark & Nelson, John D. & Corsar, David & Edwards, Peter, 2012. "Transport poverty meets the digital divide: accessibility and connectivity in rural communities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 102-112.
    23. Peng Nie & Wanglin Ma & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2021. "The relationship between smartphone use and subjective well-being in rural China," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 983-1009, December.
    24. Lucas, Karen, 2019. "A new evolution for transport-related social exclusion research?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    25. Delbosc, Alexa & Currie, Graham, 2011. "Exploring the relative influences of transport disadvantage and social exclusion on well-being," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 555-562, August.
    26. Aguiléra, Anne & Guillot, Caroline & Rallet, Alain, 2012. "Mobile ICTs and physical mobility: Review and research agenda," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 664-672.
    27. Currie, Graham & Richardson, Tony & Smyth, Paul & Vella-Brodrick, Dianne & Hine, Julian & Lucas, Karen & Stanley, Janet & Morris, Jenny & Kinnear, Ray & Stanley, John, 2009. "Investigating links between transport disadvantage, social exclusion and well-being in Melbourne--Preliminary results," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 97-105, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Duvarci, Yavuz & Yigitcanlar, Tan & Mizokami, Shoshi, 2015. "Transportation disadvantage impedance indexing: A methodological approach to reduce policy shortcomings," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 61-75.
    2. Pyrialakou, V. Dimitra & Gkritza, Konstantina & Fricker, Jon D., 2016. "Accessibility, mobility, and realized travel behavior: Assessing transport disadvantage from a policy perspective," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 252-269.
    3. He, Sylvia Y. & Thøgersen, John & Cheung, Yannie H.Y. & Yu, Alesia H.Y., 2020. "Ageing in a transit-oriented city: Satisfaction with transport, social inclusion and wellbeing," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 85-94.
    4. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Koomson, Isaac & Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim, 2023. "Transport poverty and obesity: The mediating roles of social capital and physical activity," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 155-166.
    5. Morris, Eric A., 2015. "Should we all just stay home? Travel, out-of-home activities, and life satisfaction," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 519-536.
    6. Robin Hickman & Mengqiu Cao & Beatriz Mella Lira & Alexis Fillone & Jose Bienvenido Biona, 2017. "Understanding Capabilities, Functionings and Travel in High and Low Income Neighbourhoods in Manila," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 161-174.
    7. Haseeb, Attiya & Mitra, Raktim, 2023. "Do environmentally sustainable travel behaviours contribute to transportation-related social exclusion?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    8. Md. Kamruzzaman & Tan Yigitcanlar & Jay Yang & Mohd Afzan Mohamed, 2016. "Measures of Transport-Related Social Exclusion: A Critical Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-30, July.
    9. Zhao, Pengjun & Yu, Zhao, 2021. "Rural poverty and mobility in China: A national-level survey," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    10. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2019. "Transport poverty and subjective wellbeing," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 40-54.
    11. Rottemberg, Julieta & Ghasri, Milad & Grzybowska, Hanna & Dockery, Alfred M. & Waller, S. Travis, 2022. "Inequality and access to services for remote populations: An Australian case study," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    12. Rui Xiao & Guofeng Wang & Meng Wang, 2018. "Transportation Disadvantage and Neighborhood Sociodemographics: A Composite Indicator Approach to Examining Social Inequalities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 29-43, May.
    13. Haseeb, Attiya & Mitra, Raktim, 2024. "Travel behaviour changes among young adults and associated implications for social sustainability," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    14. Stanley, John K. & Hensher, David A. & Stanley, Janet R. & Vella-Brodrick, Dianne, 2021. "Valuing changes in wellbeing and its relevance for transport policy," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 16-27.
    15. Nazari Adli, Saeid & Donovan, Stuart, 2018. "Right to the city: Applying justice tests to public transport investments," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 56-65.
    16. Ward, Chandra & Walsh, Darrell, 2023. "“I just don't go nowhere:” How transportation disadvantage reinforces social exclusion," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    17. Elmira Jamei & Melissa Chan & Hing Wah Chau & Eric Gaisie & Katrin Lättman, 2022. "Perceived Accessibility and Key Influencing Factors in Transportation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-22, August.
    18. Langford, M. & Higgs, G. & Fry, R., 2012. "Using floating catchment analysis (FCA) techniques to examine intra-urban variations in accessibility to public transport opportunities: the example of Cardiff, Wales," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 1-14.
    19. Zhang, Shanqi & Yang, Yu & Zhen, Feng & Lobsang, Tashi & Li, Zhixuan, 2021. "Understanding the travel behaviors and activity patterns of the vulnerable population using smart card data: An activity space-based approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    20. Yang Zhou & Chunyang Tong & Yongsheng Wang, 2022. "Road construction, economic growth, and poverty alleviation in China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 1306-1332, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:189:y:2024:i:c:s096585642400288x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.