Free bus passes gave greater freedom in disadvantaged areas
Transit fares restrict residents in disadvantaged areas. Expensive bus passes limit their opportunities to participate in recreational activities and make them feel trapped in their neighbourhoods, according to new research from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Uppsala University.
“We have seen that low-income individuals in the Gottsunda and Bäcklösa areas of Uppsala are highly dependent on public transport, but for them the price of public transport is too high. So they either remain in their neighbourhoods or are forced to walk long distances,” says Fredrik Johansson , researcher at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED).
The researchers behind the study gave seven people three months of free public transport. Afterward, they interviewed the participants in depth. Originally their study had another purpose: to investigate ways of travelling that could make it easier for people on lower incomes to manage their daily lives. According to Johansson, housing companies offer various mobility services (often car and bicycle pools) as alternatives to car ownership in residential areas. However, evaluators lack knowledge about the perspectives and needs of low-income earners.
“When we conducted the interviews, we quickly realised that the ticket price for public transport was the most important issue. That’s why we decided to study this in more depth,” Johansson says.
In these interviews, participants explained how access to free transportation expanded their opportunities to participate in various activities. One said she was able to travel into central Uppsala and walk along the river “like a normal person”. Several participants described how the public transport card gave them not only a sense freedom, but the security of always being able to get back home.
“Research shows that the price of public transport is important for social sustainability, but people in this group are often poorly represented in surveys and in public debate,” Johansson says.
“We are currently working on reporting the results of our research. Internationally, the concept of transport poverty has been around for a long time, and we believe it should be discussed more in Sweden as well. It is important to highlight the perspective of this group, which has long been invisible.”
Jon Lindhe ( jlindhe@kth.se )