Martin Wachs

PHYSICAL ACCESSIBILITY AS A SOCIAL INDICATOR

Abstract A discussion is presented of the ways in which accessibility to employment and urban services constitute an important measure of the quality of urban living, and how accessibility might, therefore, be included as an important component of a “social report” for a city or region. A conceptual framework is introduced for measuring accessibility in terms of the ease with which citizens may reach a variety of opportunities for employment and services. This framework is interpreted as an approach to evaluating transportation and regional plans which differs from approaches based upon travel volumes and travel times which are currently employed in urban transportation planning and evaluation. The use of the proposed measures of accessibility is illustrated with data on accessibility to employment and health care facilities in Los Angeles, and these data are interpreted to illustrate differences in accessibility as a function of spatial location of residence, and socio-economic status.

The Changing Commute: A Case-study of the Jobs-Housing Relationship over Time

Commuting patterns between home and work were studied among 30 000 employees of Kaiser Permanente, a major health care provider in Southern California. The study tracked the differences between home and work location among employees over 6 years by analysing employee records and responses to a survey of over 1500 of the workers. It was found that work trip lengths had in general not grown over the 6 year period. Growth of the work force had contributed more to the growth in local traffic congestion than had a lengthening of the work trip over time. The automobile remains the dominant mode of travel between home and work for these employees, and choices of residential location were found to be based upon many factors in addition to the home-work separation, such as quality of neighbourhood and schools and perceived safety.

LEARNING FROM LOS ANGELES -- TRANSPORT, URBAN FORM, AND AIR QUALITY.

Los Angeles is well known around the world as an automobile-oriented low density community, yet recent transportation policies have emphasized greater capital investment in rail transportation than in highways, and recent policies have attempted to discourage automobile usage through transportation demand management. While these policies have accomplished small shifts toward public transport and somewhat lower dependence upon singly occupied automobilies for work commuting, the financial costs of these policy changes has been very large in relation to their benefits. Proper pricing of transportation alternatives, more creative use of new and emerging transportation technologies, and the provision of many more opportunities for simpler private sector transport services, would all appear to be more promising as cost-effective approaches to coping with congestion in Los Angeles than the current regional transportation policies.

U.S. Transit Subsidy Policy: In Need of Reform

Public transit in the United States has depended increasingly on public subsidies since the inception ofthe federal mass transit assistance program in the early 1960s. The subsidies are associated with declining efficiency and labor productivity, as urban transit systems have overcapitalized, simplified fare structures, and extended service into sparse suburban markets. Despite these subsidies, transit has not proved successful in countering the effects on its market of increased automobile ownership and use and of decentralizaton of residences and places of employment.

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ON TRIAL: THE CLEAN AIR ACT AND TRAVEL FORECASTING

Urban planning does not and cannot exist in isolation. A large number of external factors impact a planners work, including politics and the planning commission, environmental impact studies, and national, state, and local legislation. Focusing on the interrelations between federal legislation, the judicial process, and transportation planning, this book examines the interaction between regional transportation planning and environmental concerns, particularly air quality. This volume is designed to help urban planners understand the legal restrictions and requirements that directly impact how they operate. It considers two recent federal legislation pieces - the Clean Air Act of 1990 and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 - that mark a decade-long shift of emphasis in regional transportation planning.

Forecasting versus Envisioning: A New Window on the Future

Abstract In this essay I examine the ways in which the future has evolved from sweeping vision to technocratic projection. I argue that despite the centrality of a focus on the future in all of planning, forecasting alone is an inadequate and unsatisfying way to arrive at a concept of the future that can truly guide planning. In fact, projections of future needs and costs have become instruments by which powerful interests justify their efforts to impose their projects on the populace. I close by arguing that modern forecasting methods nevertheless can be used to explore alternative futures and the planning policies that they imply or suggest. In that way, forecasting can actually become a central part of collaborative planning.

Bus crime in Los Angeles: II—Victims and public impact

This paper documents victims of bus crime and examines the extent to which fear of personal security affects bus ridership. Using data from a victimization survey of 1088 households in west central Los Angeles, it was found that frequency of bus use was the most important correlate of being victimized. Examining moderate and heavy bus users only, it was found that the elderly, women, Hispanics and low-income persons were more likely to be victimized than other subpopulations. There was a general perception that bus travel to downtown Los Angeles was more dangerous than travel within residential neighborhoods, and that night travel was much more dangerous than day travel. Women, Hispanics and persons of low education level were more likely to perceive bus use as dangerous, indicating a subpopulation correspondence between the likelihood of victimization and perceptions of safety from bus crime. In addition, persons who had been victimized by a bus crime or who knew persons who had been victimized were more likely to perceive bus use as less safe. Lastly, it appears that victims of bus crimes, persons who had witnessed bus crimes and persons who perceived bus travel as less safe may be less likely to use buses, especially on certain routes and during certain times, but these variables are secondary in importance to automobile access, the convenience of bus travel and age.

Crime in public transit systems: An environmental design perspective

Crime on public transit is receiving increasing attention in the United States. This paper reviews security precautions taken in the planning of bus operations. Also included is a statistical analysis of criminal incidents occurring over a ten-year period on the Southern California Rapid Transit District of Los Angeles. The analysis shows that crime on transit has increased about in proportion to transit ridership, and that it is concentrated in both space and time. Crimes occur mostly on routes which traverse areas having high crime rates in general. Although most transit crimes occur at hours when ridership is high, the rates of occurrence are disproportionately high during the evening hours. Bus drivers experience much higher rates of exposure to criminal incidents than transit passengers. The transportation environment is really a complex of many dissimilar environments, and a variety of strategies is required to meet the needs posed by diverse environments.

A Dozen Reasons For Gasoline Taxes

Motor fuel taxes at state and federal levels have traditionally been earmarked for transportation investments, supporting road construction, maintenance, operations, and increasing public transit. Recently, elected officials have been reluctant to raise fuel taxes despite increases in the cost of transportation programs. Other forms of support, especially borrowing and local sales taxes, are playing larger roles in transportation finance. Raising fuel taxes would be more effective, efficient, and equitable than the alternatives that are increasingly more popular.

BUS CRIME IN LOS ANGELES I. MEASURING THE INCIDENCE

Abstract Based on a large study of bus crime in Los Angeles, this article discusses a method for estimating the number of transit crimes and examines sources of information loss within existing transit crime statistics. Using data from a victimization survey of 1088 households in west central Los Angeles, it was estimated that there were about 23,000 bus and bus-related crimes occurring in the survey area during 1983. This is 25 to 30 times the number reported by the Southern California Rapid Transit District for their entire service area. Comparisons with the 1980 census were made to evaluate bias in the sample, and it was found that the sample has probably underestimated the total amount of bus crime in the survey area. Results consistent with Los Angeles Police Department records was shown. Bus and bus-related crimes account for 20 to 30% of all crimes experienced by the central city population. Major sources of information loss are (a) crimes occurring outside buses, but during a trip; (b) non-reporting of crimes by victims; (c) non-response by police even when crimes were reported; and (d) statistical “loss” from reports taken by local police; local police do not categorize crimes by transit use. It was recommended that transit agencies cross-classify existing police reports for more accurate information. Local police should be encouraged to systematically collect data on transit behavior for both victims and assailants.