SPATIAL INEQUALITIES IN THE PROVISION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN LATIN AMERICAN CITIES

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1993

Subject Area

place - urban, mode - bus, mode - rail, mode - tram/light rail, mode - mass transit, mode - subway/metro

Keywords

Urban areas, Underground railways, Trolley cars, Transit, Trams, Subways, Sociology, Public transit, Motor coaches, Mobility, Mexico, Mass transit, Local transit, Development, Buses, Brazil, Accessibility

Abstract

The provision of public transport may not be evenly distributed within large metropolitan areas world-wide. However, in developing countries the uneven provision of public transport may assume a much larger dimension than in developed countries. The aim of this paper is to provide evidence that transport is a long way from reaching the basic needs of those who are entirely dependent upon the public system. This paper uses examples from Latin American cities and, in more detail, findings from a case study (the city of Rio de Janeiro), to demonstrate that the level of service of public transport is correlated with the population income distribution, in a way that those better off, who are mostly located in the city's centre, are provided a better service, both in quantitative and in qualitative terms; while those in lower income categories, who are mainly concentrated in peripheral areas, are provided a much poorer service. It is argued that both socioeconomic and spatial inequalities exist in the supply of public transport services and that this does not meet needs in peripheral low income areas.

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