Transportation Equity in Rural and Small Urban Areas; (1) Rural America Mobility Resources & Needs; (2) Innovative Policies and Programs; (3) Indices to Assess Equity and Prioritize Investments; and (4) Guidance for Microtransit in Rural and Small Urban Settings

The objective of this project is to pursue the research questions:

1. What are the mobility resources and needs across rural communities in the U.S. and what are key knowledge gaps for supporting equitable transportation in rural America?
2. What potential insights and practical relevance do the latest innovations in equitable transportation policy and programming have for rural and small urban areas?
3. What indices are available for assessing transportation equity and how should practitioners select from among the options?
4. What is the state of the practice of microtransit and what guidance can be offered for practitioners and funders considering this option for rural and small urban settings?

The purpose of this project is to provide the Small Urban, Rural and Tribal Center on Mobility with additional information regarding (1) mobility resources and needs across rural America, with an emphasis on a cataloging of public mobility options in rural communities via the National Transit Database in relation to sociodemographic information available from the US Census Bureau in terms of race, ethnicity, and income, as well as an overview of key knowledge gaps and future areas of inquiry for equitable transportation in rural America, such as the reasonable and equitable expectations for publicly supported travel in rural settings; (2) innovative policies and programs to provide comprehensive support for access to opportunities – currently being developed and piloted in large metropolitan area – such as universal basic mobility, targeted incentives for affordable housing residents, and new approaches to transportation pricing, and assess their potential for application in rural and small urban areas; (3) indices to operationalize and assess transportation equity and prioritize investments, with an emphasis on a comparative evaluation of their relevance for practical policymaking and planning in rural and small urban areas; and (4) a distillation on the state of microtransit with respect to sustainability for implementation and unique challenges in rural and urban settings.