This paper critically re-examines the role of accessibility sufficiency in transport justice, arguing that traditional sufficientarian approaches rooted in basic needs, social exclusion, and basic flourishing fall short. While these frameworks aim to prevent participation poverty by guaranteeing “enough” accessibility, they overlook how inequalities above the poverty line can entrench social hierarchies. Drawing on Relational Egalitarianism, the paper develops an account of sufficiency grounded in the Principle of Social Equality, according to which everyone is entitled to accessibility sufficient to participate as equals in society, free from structural disadvantage and second-class status. At the same time, when socio-economic privilege can be systematically leveraged into durable accessibility advantage, relational equality requires a Limitarian Principle that constrains this conversion. Transport justice thus requires a relational sufficiency threshold, together with constraints on the disproportionate capture of accessibility by privileged groups.
This review paper examines the relationship between disability and transport, with a particular focus on visually impaired people (VIP). Contemporary transport systems often fail to accommodate the diverse requirements associated with disability, including the range of disabilities and varied requirements, limiting independent mobility and participation in everyday life. The review synthesises literature from transport planning, disability studies, urban design, psychology, policy and assistive technology to examine how legal frameworks, the built environment and emerging technologies impact the travel experience of VIP. Drawing primarily on UK evidence, the review identifies and links legacy, persistent and contemporary problems in transport design and policy that continue to constrain mobility, including longstanding shortcomings in infrastructure, information systems, policy implementation and emerging challenges associated with evolving street design and new technologies. The review highlights major conceptual and empirical gaps, particularly concerning the psychological and emotional dimensions of travel and the interaction between environmental design, spatial cognition and participation. The conclusion proposes a research, policy and design agenda aimed at creating more inclusive streets and transport systems.
This scoping review examines the literature on the mobility needs and challenges faced by older adults living in North American cities. The review includes added emphasis on women and immigrant older adult women. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage framework, the review encompasses 45 studies, comprising both quantitative and qualitative research, published since 2009. The review finds that the key mobility challenges experienced by older adults are associated with declining physical and mental health, low income, digital (ill)literacy, and lack of driving capability. The challenges are exacerbated for older adult women who experience early driving cessation, tend to live alone longer and more often than men, and are less frequent adopters of new technology. Among immigrant older adult women, cultural norms, personal safety concerns, caregiving/homemaking responsibilities, and language barriers further restrict independent mobility. The review emphasises the necessity of intersectional, context-sensitive policy interventions to address the distinct mobility needs of older adults, women, and immigrants in North America.
Air transport plays a critical role in the movement of people and goods in modern society, and the socio-economically and environmentally sustainable development of cities and regions. There is a variety of mechanisms by which air transport affects urban development in direct, indirect, spillover and combined ways. The paper reviews the research undertaken over the last two decades relating to the direct, indirect, spillover and combined impacts of air transport on the three pillars of sustainable development namely, economic, environmental and social development of cities and regions, and on the factors that moderate these effects. We identified that the impacts of air transport on all three pillars, although examined in recent studies, are not balanced across the different effects of air transport, i.e. direct, indirect, spillover and combined effects. Key directions for further research are proposed.
Transport equity has traditionally been assessed through objective indicators such as accessibility, affordability, and travel times, yet these measures overlook the experiential dimensions that shape whether mobility systems are genuinely fair, inclusive, and usable. Growing evidence shows that individuals with similar transport provision can encounter profoundly unequal journeys, influenced by safety and security concerns, discomfort, unpredictability, or emotional burden, highlighting the need for equity evaluations that incorporate subjective experience. Travel satisfaction has therefore emerged as a promising experiential indicator capable of revealing inequities that conventional metrics routinely miss. This scoping review synthesises 28 peer-reviewed articles published between 2017 and (July) 2025 that examine the relationship between travel satisfaction and transport equity across diverse contexts. The findings show that satisfaction consistently exposes social and spatial inequities, with lower ratings concentrated among low-income groups, women, older adults, travellers with disabilities, and residents of peripheral neighbourhoods. Findings suggest that satisfaction may capture unmet mobility needs, capability constraints, and emotional work, offering a more nuanced understanding of needs fulfilment than accessibility metrics alone. Findings suggest further that satisfaction can provide actionable guidance for equitable policy prioritisation by identifying locations where objective accessibility is high but experiential quality is low, and by validating the social impacts of major transport investments. The review develops a conceptual model positioning travel satisfaction as a diagnostic, mediating, and normative lens within transport equity analysis. It highlights methodological and geographic gaps in existing evidence and identifies opportunities for advancing satisfaction-based approaches in policy and research. Overall, travel satisfaction was found to offer a critical pathway toward mobility systems that are not only efficient and sustainable, but also just, inclusive, and experientially supportive.
Railway stations play a key role in sustainable mobility transitions. They not only provide transport infrastructure, but also serve as hubs of social and economic activity - often centrally located and tightly integrated into the urban fabric of their catchment areas. Station classification has emerged as a tool to support the development of these areas, particularly in the context of sustainable land-use and transport policy integration, and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). Over the years, a wide variety of classification approaches have been developed. However, despite the growing importance of rail travel and TOD at the European level, no uniform approach to classifying railway stations currently exists. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review of European station classification studies. Of the 1,675 studies screened, 31 met our eligibility criteria and were analysed in depth. We examined the similarities and differences as well as rationales among the classification approaches identified, focusing on (i) general characteristics like objectives and catchment areas (ii) the classification criteria used and (iii) the resulting classes. Even though we found a wide variety both for criteria and classes, we were able to identify recurrent emergent themes that can help developing a unified European classification framework. We conclude with an outline of policy changes necessary to achieve such a framework. Our analysis presents a first step toward a more standardised and inclusive approach to station classification, helping to define shared station (area) transformation pathways and engage diverse stakeholder groups in shaping a more sustainable future in Europe and beyond.
This critical narrative review examines barriers in the urban built environment affecting people with mobility and vision disabilities, highlighting how infrastructure and transportation systems often exclude or inadequately serve disabled populations. Drawing on 60 academic studies and related materials, the review finds that multiple, intersecting barriers constrain safe and unimpeded movement, limiting social and economic participation. Thematically organised findings identify gaps in understanding how environmental conditions shape mobility and how disability can be produced through design, language, and policy. Routine engagements with built space and evolving understandings of disability reveal accessibility as a relational outcome, continually negotiated among bodies, technologies, and urban systems, rather than merely a fixed quality of infrastructure.
Transport-related social exclusion (TRSE) has emerged as an increasingly pressing concern in cities across the Global South, where rapid urbanisation converges with stark spatial inequalities, deeply entrenched socio-economic disparities, and fragmented transport systems. This review focuses on Latin American (LATAM) cities, which are particularly illustrative of these dynamics, and provides a new lens on behavioural factors influencing modal choice and their role as determinants of TRSE. In addition to challenging prevailing narratives that champion infrastructure and accessibility inequities while overlooking behavioural and experiential constraints, the article also employs a more inclusive approach to literature review, incorporating multilingual sources from the SciELO database, which includes extensive scholarly work from LATAM that rarely appears in well-consolidated indexes such as Web of Science or Scopus. The thematic synthesis (n = 96) uncovers structural socio-spatial inequalities prevalent in LATAM urban contexts, including gendered security risks, social stigmas affecting marginalised populations, and socio-spatial segregation phenomena that nurture specific travel behaviours independent of transport infrastructure availability and affordability. The combination of indexed and non-indexed databases further reveals nuanced discrepancies in the transport modes considered and the target groups highlighted, offering a more comprehensive understanding of the contextual particularities of TRSE in LATAM that would otherwise be fragmentary if only English-based, indexed literature were considered. Building on this synthesis, a conceptual framework is developed that integrates behavioural constraints, structural inequalities, and socio-spatial dynamics, aiming to sketch recommendations for planning practice and policymaking, tailored to LATAM contexts.
This study reviews the empirical evidence comparing the performance of road projects implemented under different contractual arrangements involving varying degrees of private sector participation. We examine multiple outcomes - such as costs, quality, and safety - and different forms of private involvement, including public-private partnerships, performance-based contracts, and the contracting out of maintenance services. The review focuses on the relatively limited set of studies that employ econometric methods using samples of comparable projects and that control for other factors potentially affecting the outcomes under consideration. Overall, the evidence is heterogeneous, with improvements in quality and safety mainly arising in bundled construction-maintenance contracts, although causal effects remain uncertain and context-dependent. Cost savings are observed in maintenance contracts, but evidence on costs for more complex contracts is inconclusive and may involve efficiency and distributional risks, underscoring the need for complementary public policies.
Safe-guarding equity, enhancing social inclusion and promoting accessibility may be the centrepiece of transport planning in a rapidly ageing world. Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAVs) are often presented as a major technological shift that may reshape access to travel; however, their consequences for older people remain insufficiently understood. This work reviews studies published since 2015 to assess how SAVs may affect mobility, independence, and transport equity for people aged 60 and over. It draws on a two-stage systematic literature review following the PRISMA methodology. The first stage extracts findings relevant to older people from studies addressing SAVs within the general population, including age-disaggregated results, accessibility considerations, and responses to trust, safety, and usability. In the second stage, these results are compared with studies focusing exclusively on older people. Across quantitative, qualitative and mix-method studies, age consistently influences attitudes towards SAVs. Older people tend to express lower familiarity with autonomous systems, greater hesitation towards ride-sharing, and concerns about safety, digital requirements, and cost. At the same time, simulations suggest that well-designed services could increase trip rates, reduce car dependence, and support access for people with reduced mobility. Research on accessibility underscores the value of low-floor vehicles, ramps, clear interfaces, spacious interiors, and supportive digital tools. These features align with the principles of universal design and can strengthen confidence among users who require physical assistance. SAVs may widen mobility opportunities for older people, but adoption will depend on accessible design, affordable service models, and interventions that build trust and digital competence. Policy measures must recognise the age-specific requirements of older people and address risks created by limited spatial coverage, lack of human support, and uneven technological readiness. We conclude that SAV deployment in ageing societies can be equitable if older people's needs are acknowledged in the decision-making process governing such a transition.
Electric micromobility (e-micromobility) has gained significant popularity in cities worldwide, yet urban infrastructure often fails to support adequate access to and use of these modes for a wide range of users. This systematic literature review applies the Capabilities Approach to identify key physical features of the built environment necessary to foster e-micromobility as an equitable and inclusive travel option. We analyse how personal, social, political, and economic conversion factors interact with physical features of the built environment to impact the translation of e-micromobility resources into three capabilities: e-micromobility access, mobility and accessibility. Drawing from the review of 31 studies, we discuss the interactions between conversion factors, propose a definition of equitable e-micromobility, and identify infrastructure elements to be prioritised by planners to foster the three capabilities. Key priorities include (i) dockless parking; (ii) dense and connected dedicated lanes, physically segregated from motorised vehicles and pedestrians; (iii) affordable fares of shared systems; and (iv) regulations to reduce conflicts between modes. The findings suggest the need for research that approaches e-micromobility equity from a systems perspective: focusing on the relationships between the conversion factors and on the interactions of e-micromobility with other travel modes. The explicit comparison of how differently e-bikes and e-scooters serve vulnerable groups and the direct elicitation of perceptions and preferences within these groups are also important gaps that should be filled to guide the design and implementation of more equitable e-micromobility systems.
Urban rail transit (URT) systems underpin urban mobility and socio-economic activities, yet increasing system complexity and interdependence have enlarged their exposure to diverse disturbances, positioning resilience as a core analytical paradigm. However, prior studies remain fragmented, with limited efforts to systematically identify the influencing factors of URT resilience and the corresponding enhancement strategies. Meanwhile, prior reviews mainly focused on the assessment of URT resilience, and it lacks a systematic review from the perspective of relevant influencing factors and enhancement strategies. Following the PRISMA guidelines, this review identifies and selects 62 studies through a two-stage screening process and backward snowballing. Using thematic analysis, we develop a structured framework of influencing factors associated with URT resilience and a comprehensive taxonomy of resilience enhancement strategies, providing a comprehensive understanding of URT resilience and a foundation for future research and policy development. The findings indicate that URT resilience process comprises five stages, namely prevention, resistance, response, recovery, and adaptation, and is shaped by four interrelated dimensions, including human and behavioural factors, infrastructure and technological support, environmental and external influences, and governance and management capacity. These dimensions interact across different resilience stages and exhibit significant cross-stage coupling features. Furthermore, resilience enhancement strategies are distinguished according to their primary modes of intervention into three interrelated layers: infrastructural, operational, and external, which target intrinsic system properties, operational and decision-making processes, and the external environment, respectively. Resilience enhancement is inherently multi-layered, relying on context-sensitive combinations and coordinated deployment of strategies across multiple layers. Finally, this review underscores that future research should address underexamined influencing factors, strengthen the development and application of real-world, multi-source data and emerging technologies, and place greater emphasis on practical applicability and implementation capacity, thereby supporting more adaptive and data-driven URT resilience management.
Although cycling is widely promoted as a sustainable and equitable mode, research on cycling accessibility is fragmented and its relationship with equity has not been systematically reviewed. This paper presents a PRISMA-based systematic review of 71 peer-reviewed studies that measure access to destinations by bicycle, e-bike, or bike-sharing and explicitly address equity. We propose a theoretical framework that integrates cycling accessibility componentes with normative equity perspectives, including egalitarian and sufficientarian approaches and the distinction between horizontal and vertical equity. Additionally, we classify each study using the four accessibility components proposed by Geurs and van Wee (2004) (land-use, transport, temporal, and individual/social), the accessibility and equity metrics applied, and whether accessibility is calculated or perceived. Publications on cycling accessibility and equity have increased sharply since 2019, with more than half of studies conducted in China and the United States and very few in the Global South. Cumulative and gravity-based measures predominate, although competition-based and behaviourally informed models are emerging. Most work focuses on land-use and transport components, while temporal variation and individual differences in needs and capabilities are rarely considered. Travel time is the most common impedance measure, with some studies also incorporating physical effort or monetary cost. Equity is typically assessed through group comparisons or the Gini coefficient, with limited use of decomposable or spatially explicit measures such as the Palma ratio, Theil index, or bivariate Moran’s I. Only a small number of studies examine perceived accessibility, which often diverges from calculated measures. The review highlights the need for stronger vertical equity frameworks, better integration of perceived and calculated accessibility, and explicit modelling of temporal variability, particularly in bike-sharing and multimodal contexts.
The school journey is a daily ritual with profound implications for urban sustainability, child health, and transport equity. Supporting children's active school transport (AST) remains one of the most accessible and impactful strategies to advance these goals. While distance is widely acknowledged as a key determinant of AST, there has been no systematic synthesis of the distances and durations children actually travel using active modes. This paper addresses that gap through a systematic review of 149 studies published between 2003 and 2023, encompassing data from 492,416 children across diverse global contexts. Studies were included if they reported quantitative measures of distance or time travelled by children walking or cycling to or from school. We identified two dominant approaches to reporting AST distance and duration: typical values (means and medians) and spatial thresholds (bands and cut-offs). Across studies reporting averages, children walked a mean distance of 1.0 km (14 min) and cycled 2.7 km (13 min). These values suggest a practical threshold for promoting AST, with 14 min emerging as a consistent average travel time across modes. Band-based studies further confirmed that AST declines as distance increases, though reporting methods varied widely. The review highlights significant heterogeneity in measurement techniques, definitions of active travel, and reporting practices. While this diversity reflects the contextual richness of AST research, it also limits opportunities for meta-analysis. We argue against standardisation, advocating instead for context-sensitive, interdisciplinary approaches that bridge transport and public health research. Improved collaboration and methodological transparency are essential to advancing the field. This review provides a foundational reference for researchers, planners, and policymakers seeking to understand and support AST. It offers empirically grounded benchmarks for distance and time, while also calling for more nuanced, context-aware research to inform interventions that promote walking and cycling to school.
The dominance of private cars in urban areas has led to increased parking demand, often at little or no cost to drivers despite the high value of urban land. Efforts to reform parking policies, particularly through the introduction of higher fees and removal of on-street parking, frequently encounter public and political resistance. This paper introduces and explores the concept of Mobility Benefit Districts (MBDs), an adaptation of Shoup’s Parking Benefit Districts. MBD aims to increase public acceptability of parking charges by earmarking revenues for sustainable mobility and involving residents through participatory budgeting. Through a systematic literature review and analysis of eight European case studies, we explored examples that implemented at least one of two core elements of MBD: (1) the earmarking of parking revenues for alternative mobility and public space improvements, and (2) participatory processes in the allocation of these funds. We assessed policy measures and real-world examples regarding their impact on transport, acceptability and liveability. Our analysis revealed a general lack of literature addressing parking fee hypothecation. We also identified minimal community engagement during the implementation of measures, barring political and public acceptability. For the design and implementation of MBD, we emphasise the importance of enabling legal frameworks at a neighbourhood-level, continuous participatory processes, and strategic framing of MBD benefits to build public support.
