Transport modes and inequalities

Caroline Mullen

Abstract

The importance of equality and transport modes follows from the ways in which use of transport supports lives and welfare, the ways in which it can damage lives, and the world in which we live, and how decision making affects what transport modes are enabled or privileged. The availability, affordability, and accessibility of different transport modes can determine what activities we can engage in and which we are excluded from. That ability to use different forms of transport is unevenly distributed, and where some transport modes are privileged this can itself create barriers to other uses of transport. Coupled with this are inequalities in risks and harms associated with different transport modes, including harms of poor air quality, carbon dioxide emissions, and road traffic collisions. Attention to inequalities associated with ability to use different transport modes and with risks and harms of transport is central to effectively addressing transport mode inequalities.

Banner photo credit: Alireza Attari on Unsplash