IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i19p8620-d1492371.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Demographic and Built Environment Predictors of Public Transportation Retention and Work-from-Home Changes in Small- to Medium-Sized Massachusetts Cities, 2011–2021

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca Marie Shakespeare

    (Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA)

  • Sumeeta Srinivasan

    (Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA)

Abstract

Transportation uses substantial energy and is a significant household expense in the United States; public transportation and working from home present opportunities to reduce energy use and increase household affordability. However, during COVID-19, transportation systems reduced service, and nationwide, public transportation use has been declining. Focusing on six small-to-medium-sized “Gateway Cities” in Massachusetts—more affordable cities with lower-than-state-average median income and lower-than-state-average education—that have regional transit systems and are within Boston’s commuter rail area, we analyzed the changes in public transit ridership and work from home. We estimated linear and hierarchical linear regression models to understand the association between demographics and built environment and lower emission modes to work between 2011 and 2021. We used GIS to visualize the distribution of public transit ridership and work from home over time and space. We found that the block groups in our sample retained public transit users over the study period and saw increases in working from home. Across all cities, transit ridership was more likely to increase in block groups with higher accessibility to jobs and more frequent transportation to those jobs; work-from-home was more likely to increase in block groups with a lower percentage of Hispanic residents and lower rent burden. We found that most block groups either saw an increase in ridership or working from home, suggesting that work from home and public transit users are spatially segmented groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Marie Shakespeare & Sumeeta Srinivasan, 2024. "Demographic and Built Environment Predictors of Public Transportation Retention and Work-from-Home Changes in Small- to Medium-Sized Massachusetts Cities, 2011–2021," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-18, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8620-:d:1492371
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8620/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8620/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Manville & Brian D. Taylor & Evelyn Blumenberg & Andrew Schouten, 2023. "Vehicle access and falling transit ridership: evidence from Southern California," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 303-329, February.
    2. Soria, Jason & Edward, Deirdre & Stathopoulos, Amanda, 2023. "Requiem for transit ridership? An examination of who abandoned, who will return, and who will ride more with mobility as a service," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 139-154.
    3. Michael J. Smart & Nicholas J. Klein, 2018. "Complicating the Story of Location Affordability," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 393-410, May.
    4. Carrie Makarewicz & Prentiss Dantzler & Arlie Adkins, 2020. "Another Look at Location Affordability: Understanding the Detailed Effects of Income and Urban Form on Housing and Transportation Expenditures," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(6), pages 1033-1055, November.
    5. Circella, Giovanni & Iogansen, Xiatian & Makino, Keita & Compostella, Junia & Young, Mischa & Malik, Jai K, 2023. "Investigating the Temporary and Longer-term Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mobility in California," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt0xm768km, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    6. Yasenov, Vasil, 2020. "Who Can Work from Home?," IZA Discussion Papers 13197, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Yasenov, Vasil, 2020. "Who Can Work from Home?," OSF Preprints 89k47, Center for Open Science.
    8. Alejandro Tirachini, 2020. "Ride-hailing, travel behaviour and sustainable mobility: an international review," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 2011-2047, August.
    9. Erick Guerra & Mariel Kirschen, 2016. "Housing Plus Transportation Affordability Indices: Uses, Opportunities, and Challenges," International Transport Forum Discussion Papers 2016/14, OECD Publishing.
    10. Yasenov, Vasil, 2020. "Who Can Work from Home?," OSF Preprints 89k47_v1, Center for Open Science.
    11. Yuanyuan Zhang & Yuming Zhang, 2018. "Exploring the Relationship between Ridesharing and Public Transit Use in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-23, August.
    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. Basso, Gaetano & Boeri, Tito & Caiumi, Alessandro & Paccagnella, Marco, 2020. "The New Hazardous Jobs and Worker Reallocation," IZA Discussion Papers 13532, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Brandily, Paul & Brébion, Clément & Briole, Simon & Khoury, Laura, 2021. "A poorly understood disease? The impact of COVID-19 on the income gradient in mortality over the course of the pandemic," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    3. Hamish Low & Michaela Benzeval & Jon Burton & Thomas F. Crossley & Paul Fisher & Annette Jäckle & Brendan Read, 2020. "The Idiosyncratic Impact of an Aggregate Shock The Distributional Consequences of COVID-19," Economics Series Working Papers 911, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    4. Abel Brodeur & David Gray & Anik Islam & Suraiya Bhuiyan, 2021. "A literature review of the economics of COVID‐19," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1007-1044, September.
    5. Alipour, Jean-Victor & Fadinger, Harald & Schymik, Jan, 2021. "My home is my castle – The benefits of working from home during a pandemic crisis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    6. Armagan Gezici & Ozge Ozay, 2020. "An Intersectional Analysis of COVID-19 Unemployment," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 3(4), pages 270-281, December.
    7. Alipour, Jean-Victor & Falck, Oliver & Schüller, Simone, 2023. "Germany’s capacity to work from home," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    8. Ainaa, Carmen & Brunetti, Irene & Mussida, Chiara & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2021. "Who lost the most? Distributive effects of COVID-19 pandemic," GLO Discussion Paper Series 829, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Foremny, Dirk & Sorribas-Navarro, Pilar & Vall Castelló, Judit, 2024. "Income insecurity and mental health in pandemic times," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    10. Bonacini, Luca & Gallo, Giovanni & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2020. "All that glitters is not gold. Effects of working from home on income inequality at the time of COVID-19," GLO Discussion Paper Series 541, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Carmen Aina & Irene Brunetti & Chiara Mussida & Sergio Scicchitano, 2023. "Distributional effects of COVID-19," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 221-256, March.
    12. Isaure Delaporte & Julia Escobar & Werner Peña, 2021. "The distributional consequences of social distancing on poverty and labour income inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(4), pages 1385-1443, October.
    13. Tian, Guang & Ewing, Reid & Li, Han, 2023. "Exploring the influences of ride-hailing services on VMT and transit usage – Evidence from California," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    14. Esso‐Hanam Atake & Yevessé Dandonougbo & Fifonsi Adjidossi Gbeasor‐Komlanvi & Malb Ama N’Danida Yagninim & Didier Koumavi Kouevi, 2024. "Impacts of unconditional cash transfers on health care utilisation in informal sector households in Togo," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 62-82, January.
    15. Barbour, Natalia & Abdel-Aty, Mohamed & Sevim, Alican, 2024. "Intended work from home frequency after the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of socio-demographic, psychological, disability, and work-related factors," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    16. Asmussen, Katherine E. & Mondal, Aupal & Bhat, Chandra R. & Pendyala, Ram M., 2023. "On modeling future workplace location decisions: An analysis of Texas employees," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    17. Maria De Paola & Salvatore Lattanzio, 2023. "Parental labor market penalties during two years of COVID-19," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 749, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    18. Luca Bonacini & Giovanni Gallo & Sergio Scicchitano, 2021. "Working from home and income inequality: risks of a ‘new normal’ with COVID-19," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 303-360, January.
    19. Laurent Bossavie & Daniel Garrote‐Sanchez & Mattia Makovec & Çağlar Özden, 2022. "Do immigrants shield the locals? Exposure to COVID‐related risks in the European Union," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 1478-1514, November.
    20. Antonio Chirumbolo & Antonino Callea & Flavio Urbini, 2022. "Living in Liquid Times: The Relationships among Job Insecurity, Life Uncertainty, and Psychosocial Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-20, November.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8620-:d:1492371. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.