Survey and analysis of transportation affordable programs in California

While the United States has long supported basic needs of residents through social welfare programs, policies supporting affordable transportation for lower income individuals have been much more limited. Federal support for transportation includes subsidies to transit agencies and requirements to offer discounted fares to certain groups such as seniors and riders with disabilities, but income-qualified discounts are not required. This study explores opportunities for improving access to transportation affordable programs by gathering insights from existing income-qualified transportation benefits. Researchers compare examples of these programs to design features of existing non-transportation benefits to characterize opportunities for increased coordination and standardization. Finally, as the U.S. has seen an increase in recent years of Universal Basic Mobility (UBM) pilots that provide flexible transportation funds, the study incorporates insights from UBM evaluations to understand h..., Products of Research
This study involved collecting data from a variety of publicly available sources including the National Transit Database, U.S. Census and American Community Survey Data, and transit agency websites. This study also involved collecting qualitative data through interviews with transit agency and state agency staff to gather information about transit discount and public benefits programs.
Data Format and Content
The data submitted for this study are contained in a comma-separated values spreadsheet which contains tables of transit agency data and fare and discount data as described above. To protect the identity of individuals interviewed for this study, interview transcripts are not included in the data repository, but the repository does contain a document listing the specific interview questions used.
Data Access and Sharing
Describe how the general public can access the data or if there are limitations to accessing the data. Include the DOI for the dataset, if a..., , # Survey and Analysis of Transportation Affordable Programs in California

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.g4f4qrg16](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.g4f4qrg16)

## Description of the data and file structure

## Inventory and Analysis of Transit Fare Discount Programs

### Materials and Metrics for Existing Programs

We conducted an online review of fare structures and programs for a wide range of transit agencies and geographies in California to develop an inventory of existing income-qualified discounts and other fare discounts across the state. This involved a broad search of transit agency and local government programs across major metropolitan areas and urban, suburban, and rural areas including:

·         Bay Area and Central Coast: San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Rosa, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Monterey

·         Central and Northern California: Bakersfield, Fresno, Stockton, Modesto, Sacramento, Sierras

·         Southern California: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara

F...