Shared Micromobility Pilot Promotes Low-Income Access in Fort Smith, Arkansas

Details

• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Case Studies Context Sensitive Design Low Income Groups Mobility Public Transit
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-HEP-24-036
• Resource Type:
  Brief
• Right Statement:
  Public Domain
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States;Arkansas
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Abstract:
  Fort Smith is a city in Northwest Arkansas with a population of approximately 90,000 people. The median household income of Fort Smith is below the national average, with a poverty rate of 18.9 percent in 2021. Roughly 65 percent of low-income residents in Fort Smith do not own a personal vehicle or have access to reliable public transportation. Most routes in Fort Smith’s public transportation network only run hourly from 7am to 6pm, 6 days a week, making it difficult for low-income residents to rely on public transportation for consistent and timely trips to and from home, work, medical providers, and other essential destinations. This is particularly true for commuting trips outside of typical morning and evening service. Shared micromobility is emerging in larger cities across the country as a viable transportation mode to address the first- and last-mile challenge, helping to connect individuals to public transit and other transportation options. However, the benefits of shared micromobility may not be equitably shared across all communities and abilities. Because growth of shared micromobility is often dependent on private investment and the availability of high-quality active transportation infrastructure, its development has been concentrated in large, urban areas. Furthermore, some low-income populations may face barriers to accessing shared micromobility for a number of reasons, including: Lack of outreach to and engagement with underserved and disadvantaged populations in planning shared mobility systems; Lack of safe, micromobility-friendly infrastructure throughout the operation area; Lack of safe, accessible infrastructure and/or transit accessibility at and beyond the operation area boundary to further extend network reach; Lack of pricing structure affordability; Lack of access to payment and trip options for unbanked individuals and individuals without a smartphone; Lack of availability of adaptive devices for people with disabilities; Inequitable distribution of devices across the network; and Inequitable enforcement.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5fbf09e78f25553155ff561cb4b528f5804aee5f3a272b67072ccbece0cb5007a54044040707f36eef401798edb37a71072679513c4aab53ce20468e702e4ce7
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/77758/dot_77758_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 388.39 KB ]