Mobility for Special Populations & Social Equity

TSRC conducts research on transportation equity and mobility for special populations’ to understand considerations and strategies that may remove transportation barriers and enhance mobility.

Featured Publications:

Student Access to Community College Relies Heavily on Private Vehicle Use

2025

California’s 116 community colleges, attended by 1.9 million students, serves the largest and most diverse student body in California higher education. Transportation plays an important role in student community college access and retention, but the cost and accessibility can create a...Read more about Student Access to Community College Relies Heavily on Private Vehicle Use

Strategies for Improving Community College Access in California

2025

In California, transportation plays a key role in community college access because many community college districts have satellite campuses, have limited transportation options, and tend to not have on-campus housing. To better understand the mobility challenges students face accessing...Read more about Strategies for Improving Community College Access in California

Struggling to Connect: Housing and Transportation Challenges of Low-Income Suburban Residents in the San Francisco Bay Area

2024

Suburban areas have lower density development than urban areas, which may make them less accessible for the growingpopulation of low- and moderate-income suburban residents, particularly those without a personal vehicle. This research examines factors that lead these households to move to...Read more about Struggling to Connect: Housing and Transportation Challenges of Low-Income Suburban Residents in the San Francisco Bay Area

Understanding the Travel Needs of Underserved Populations That Rely on Transportation Network Companies in the San Francisco Bay Area

2022

Congestion management strategies can be improved through increased data sharing, particularly between public and private stakeholders. Additionally, improvements in public transit and pooling services (e.g., dedicated infrastructure) can help increase travelers' willingness to shift to higher-...Read more about Understanding the Travel Needs of Underserved Populations That Rely on Transportation Network Companies in the San Francisco Bay Area

Advancing Social Equity and Congestion Relief: Understanding the Travel Needs of Underserved Populations That Rely on Transportation Network Companies in the San Francisco Bay Area

2022

Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) enable travelers to order and pay for rides on-demand using an online application that connects them with drivers using their personal vehicles. While these modes present opportunities to increase individual mobilityand access, they also can worsen...Read more about Advancing Social Equity and Congestion Relief: Understanding the Travel Needs of Underserved Populations That Rely on Transportation Network Companies in the San Francisco Bay Area

Bridging the Income and Digital Divide with Shared Automated Electric Vehicles

2021

This research investigates strategies to improve the mobility of low-income travelers by incentivizing the use of electric SAVs (SAEVs) and public transit. We employ two agent-based simulation engines, an activity-based travel demand model of the San Francisco Bay Area, and vehicle...Read more about Bridging the Income and Digital Divide with Shared Automated Electric Vehicles

Strategies to Overcome Transportation Barriers for Rent Burdened Oakland Residents

2021

Shared mobility is gaining traction in the transportation community as a potentially more environmentally friendly alternative to automobile travel and complement to public transit. However, adoption and use of shared mobility by low-income individuals lags behind other demographic groups....Read more about Strategies to Overcome Transportation Barriers for Rent Burdened Oakland Residents

To Pool or Not to Pool? Understanding the Time and Price Tradeoffs of OnDemand Ride Users – Opportunities, Challenges, and Social Equity Considerations for Policies to Promote Shared-Ride Services

2021

On-demand mobility services including transportation network companies (also known as ridesourcing and ridehailing) like Lyft and Uber are changing the way that people travel by providing dynamic mobility that can supplement public transit and personal-vehicle use. However, TNC services...Read more about To Pool or Not to Pool? Understanding the Time and Price Tradeoffs of OnDemand Ride Users – Opportunities, Challenges, and Social Equity Considerations for Policies to Promote Shared-Ride Services

Can Sharing Economy Platforms Increase Social Equity for Vulnerable Populations in Disaster Response and Relief? A Case Study of the 2017 and 2018 California Wildfires

2020

Ensuring social equity in evacuations and disasters remains a critical challenge for many emergency management and transportation agencies. Recent sharing economy advances – including transportation network companies (TNCs, also known as ridehailing and ridesourcing), carsharing, and homesharing...Read more about Can Sharing Economy Platforms Increase Social Equity for Vulnerable Populations in Disaster Response and Relief? A Case Study of the 2017 and 2018 California Wildfires

Policy Brief: Social Equity Impacts of Congestion Management Strategies

2019

To better understand the equity implications of a variety of congestion management strategies, researchers at the Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) at University of California, Berkeley analyzed existing literature on congestion management strategies and findings from 12...Read more about Policy Brief: Social Equity Impacts of Congestion Management Strategies

Social Equity Impacts of Congestion Management Strategies

2019

This white paper examines the social equity impacts of various congestion management strategies. The paper includes a comprehensive list of 30 congestion management strategies and a discussion of equity implications related to each strategy. The authors analyze existing literature and...Read more about Social Equity Impacts of Congestion Management Strategies

Exploring Electric Vehicle Carsharing As A Mobility Option for Older Adults:A Case Study of A Senior Adult Community in The San Francisco Bay Area

2015

By the year 2030, 57 million people will be over the age of 65 in the United States. Baby Boomers drive approximately 17% more than other age groups and are active well past retirement. This paper examines electric vehicle (EV) carsharing (short-term vehicle access) as a future alternative to...Read more about Exploring Electric Vehicle Carsharing As A Mobility Option for Older Adults:A Case Study of A Senior Adult Community in The San Francisco Bay Area

For a full list of publications, please see our Resources Library.