Unaffordable fare : the cost of public transportation for low-income commuters working at three airports

Abstract

For airport employers, making sure the many low-income people they employ as baggage handlers and retail salespeople, amongst others, can get to work ensures the continued efficient operations of the airport and the prosperity of the regional economy. However high and increasing costs coupled with low-wages make commutes unaffordable and constrain employees' ability to get to their job. Using case studies of Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Denver International Airport (DEN), and San Diego International Airport (SAN), this research measures the extent to which low-income employees commuting to work at the airport by public transportation can afford their commute in 2011. The results of this analysis suggest that the cost of commuting on public transportation is beyond the means of a low-income budget. Furthermore, fewer low-income commuters take public transportation as the affordability of public transportation declines, suggesting that affordability contributes to outcomes of spatial mismatch. These results promote interventions to increase affordability and expand accessibility to public transportation for low-income commuters to the airport.