“The working poor and what GIS reveals about the possibilities of public transit.” Paper by: Rogalsky, Jennifer Journal of Transport Geography 18.2 (2010): 226+. Academic OneFile. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. Presented by: Jesse Ricciuti Business Administration and Geography Double Major 3/1/10 GEOG 370

Problem & Hypothesis Problem: How can the commute times and spatial mismatch of where one works and lives be solved or eased using GIS to demonstrate the holes in the current transportation networks or urban working poor women in Knoxville, TN? Hypothesis: Increasing frequency of public transport and adjusting stop locations will help increase access for many urban working poor women.

Methods Location: Knoxville, TN 19 women recorded their daily travels in a dairy Data was collected for going to work, weekend trips, trips to the store with method of transport, time of travel and distance traveled being recorded. GIS was used to identify public transit routes, the gaps in public transit, and the travel times. Polygonal shapes were also created to show the generalized travel patterns of participants.

Results 45.5% of bus routes ran near residential areas Urban working women travel 85.5% more time over the national average 17.4% of trips were at off hour times Average trip distance was 14 minutes Average lapse time in trips was 86 minutes meaning these people could shop and then make another bus if it ran every 30 minutes Polygonal shapes revealed it would take 3.5 times longer to travel with public transit vs. a car. Weekend trips near impossible because of limited weekend public transit service

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Conclusions There exists a mismatch where people live and work Public transit did not serve over 50% of residential areas She also proposes increasing public transit on the weekend. She proposes increases the use of cars since they cut travel times and can go anywhere. To pay for increased car ownership a proposal to expand First Wheel Loans is recommended. Criticism: Will people actually want to use public transport? What would be the effects on the environment with increased car ownership? Who will pay for the increased services in public transit?