Preprint Journal Article

Equity Implications of Robo-Taxis on Job Accessibility: Avoiding the Ecological Fallacy with Agent-Based Models

Publication Date

August 14, 2023

Associated Project

Synthesizing the State-of-the-Art in Transportation Equity Analysis to Better Understand how Shared Automated Vehicles may Impact Employment Access and Equity

Author(s)

Michael Hyland, Tanjeeb Ahmed

Areas of Expertise

Safety, Public Health, & Mobility Justice

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Abstract

Robo-taxis or shared-use automated vehicle-enabled mobility-on-demand services (SAMSs) are now in operation in the US and China. By removing drivers’ labor costs, SAMSs promise to provide significantly lower cost transportation than human-driven mobility-on-demand services. Under this assumption, prior research indicates SAMS can provide sizable employment accessibility benefits to workers. The current paper aims to analyze the distribution of SAMS accessibility benefits across segments of the population (i.e., perform an equity analysis) using an agent-based modeling approach. The study’s methodology (i) clusters worker agents by their socio-demographic and -economic characteristics using latent class analysis, (ii) estimates hierarchical work location and commute mode choice models for four worker segments, and (iii) obtains logsum-based monetary measures of accessibility for each worker in a synthetic population of Southern California. Using this information, we analyze the distributions of SAMS accessibility benefits across several population segmentations. We utilize box plots to visualize the distributional differences across population segments. Additionally, we use ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference tests to analyze the overall and inter-group statistical significance of the distributional differences, respectively. The results indicate that young, low-income, and Hispanic workers receive larger SAMS accessibility benefits on average than older, high-income, and non-Hispanic workers, respectively. Additionally, conditioning on transit accessibility, workers in zero-car households benefit more from SAMSs than one- and multi-car households. The study also aggregates the agents into their origin census tracts, classifies the census tracts based on agent socio-demographic attributes, and then analyzes the distribution of SAMS accessibility benefits across census tract designations (e.g., low median income tracts vs. high median income tracts). The study finds that if analysts were to make individual-level inferences based on the spatial analysis, the inferences would be directionally incorrect in the case of age and income, thereby misinforming policymakers regarding who benefits more/less from SAMS.

Suggested Citation

Michael Hyland and Tanjeeb Ahmed (2023) “Equity Implications of Robo-Taxis on Job Accessibility: Avoiding the Ecological Fallacy with Agent-Based Models”. Rochester, NY: SSRN. Available at: 10.2139/ssrn.4197068.

Related Publications

policy brief | May 2023

What are the Equity Implications of Robo-taxis in terms of Job Accessibility Benefits?

research report

Collecting activity data from GPS readings

Publication Date

January 1, 2002

Author(s)

James Marca, Craig Rindt, Michael McNally

Areas of Expertise

Intelligent Transportation Systems, Emerging Technologies, & Big Data Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

View research report

Suggested Citation

James E Marca, Craig R Rindt and Michael G McNally (2002) Collecting activity data from GPS readings. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1zd3g24p.

published journal article

Making decisions by D.V. Lindley - Review by L. Robin Keller

INTERFACES

Publication Date

January 1, 1987

Author(s)

LR Keller

Suggested Citation

LR Keller (1987) “Making decisions by D.V. Lindley - Review by L. Robin Keller”, INTERFACES, 17(1), pp. 135–137.

published journal article

Metabolic dysfunction modifies the influence of traffic-related air pollution and noise exposure on late-life dementia and cognitive impairment: A cohort study of older Mexican-Americans

Environmental Epidemiology

Publication Date

December 1, 2020

Author(s)

Yue Yu, Mary Haan, Kimberly C. Paul, Elizabeth Rose Mayeda, Michael Jerrett, Jun Wu, Eunice Lee, Jason Su, I.-Fan Shih, Kosuke Inoue, Beate R. Ritz

View published journal article

Abstract

Background: Cognitive impairment has been linked to traffic-related air pollution and noise exposure as well as to metabolic syndrome or some of its individual components. Here, we investigate whether the presence of metabolic dysfunction modifies associations between air pollution or noise exposures and incident dementia or cognitive impairment without dementia (CIND). Methods: For 1,612 elderly Mexican-American participants of the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (SALSA) followed for up to 10 years, we estimated residential-based local traffic-related exposures relying on the California Line Source Dispersion Model version 4 (CALINE4) for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and the SoundPLAN software package (Version 8.0; NAVCON, Fullerton, CA) that implements the Federal Highway Administration Traffic Noise Model (TNM) for noise, respectively. We used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the joint effects of NOx or noise exposures and obesity, hyperglycemia, or low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Results: The risk of developing dementia/CIND among participants with hyperglycemia who also were exposed to high levels of NOx (≥3.44 parts per billion [ppb] [75th percentile]) or noise (≥65 dB) was 2.4 (1.4, 4.0) and 2.2 (1.7, 3.9), respectively. For participants with low HDL-cholesterol, the estimated hazard ratios for dementia/CIND were 2.5 (1.4, 4.3) and 1.8 (1.0, 3.0) for those also exposed to high levels of NOx (≥3.44 ppb) or noise (≥65 dB), respectively, compared with those without metabolic dysfunction exposed to low traffic-related air pollution or noise levels. Conclusions: Exposure to traffic-related air pollution or noise most strongly increases the risk of dementia/CIND among older Mexican-Americans living in California who also exhibit hyperglycemia or low HDL-cholesterol.

Suggested Citation

Yu Yu, Mary Haan, Kimberly C. Paul, Elizabeth Rose Mayeda, Michael Jerrett, Jun Wu, Eunice Lee, Jason Su, I.-Fan Shih, Kosuke Inoue and Beate R. Ritz (2020) “Metabolic dysfunction modifies the influence of traffic-related air pollution and noise exposure on late-life dementia and cognitive impairment: A cohort study of older Mexican-Americans”, Environmental Epidemiology, 4(6), p. e122. Available at: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000122.

published journal article

Socioeconomic disparities and sexual dimorphism in neurotoxic effects of ambient fine particles on youth IQ: A longitudinal analysis

PLoS One

Publication Date

December 1, 2017

Author(s)

Pan Wang, Catherine Tuvblad, Diana Younan, Meredith Franklin, Fred Lurmann, Jun Wu, Laura A. Baker, Jiu-Chiuan Chen

View published journal article

Abstract

Mounting evidence indicates that early-life exposure to particulate air pollutants pose threats to children’s cognitive development, but studies about the neurotoxic effects associated with exposures during adolescence remain unclear. We examined whether exposure to ambient fine particles (PM2.5) at residential locations affects intelligence quotient (IQ) during pre-/early- adolescence (ages 9-11) and emerging adulthood (ages 18-20) in a demographicallydiverse population (N = 1,360) residing in Southern California. Increased ambient PM2.5 levels were associated with decreased IQ scores. This association was more evident for Performance IQ (PIQ), but less for Verbal IQ, assessed by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. For each inter-quartile (7.73 mu g/m(3)) increase in one-year PM2.5 preceding each assessment, the average PIQ score decreased by 3.08 points (95% confidence interval = [-6.04, -0.12]) accounting for within-family/within-individual correlations, demographic characteristics, family socioeconomic status (SES), parents’ cognitive abilities, neighborhood characteristics, and other spatial confounders. The adverse effect was 150% greater in low SES families and 89% stronger in males, compared to their counterparts. Better understanding of the social disparities and sexual dimorphism in the adverse PM2.5-IQ effects may help elucidate the underlying mechanisms and shed light on prevention strategies.

Suggested Citation

Pan Wang, Catherine Tuvblad, Diana Younan, Meredith Franklin, Fred Lurmann, Jun Wu, Laura A. Baker and Jiu-Chiuan Chen (2017) “Socioeconomic disparities and sexual dimorphism in neurotoxic effects of ambient fine particles on youth IQ: A longitudinal analysis”, PLoS One, 12(12), p. e0188731. Available at: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188731.

published journal article

An Integrated Analysis of Complex Travel Behavior and Urban Form Indicators

Urban Geography

Publication Date

April 1, 1982

Author(s)

Will Recker, Harry J. Schuler

View published journal article

Suggested Citation

Wilfred W. Recker and Harry J. Schuler (1982) “An Integrated Analysis of Complex Travel Behavior and Urban Form Indicators”, Urban Geography, 3(2), pp. 110–120. Available at: 10.2747/0272-3638.3.2.110.

published journal article

Fare determination in airline hub-and-spoke networks

The RAND Journal of Economics

Publication Date

January 1, 1992

Author(s)

Jan Brueckner, Nichola J. Dyer, Pablo T. Spiller

View published journal article

Abstract

This article provides the first evidence linking airfares to the structure of airline hub-and-spoke networks. The hypothesis tested is that any force that increases traffic volume on the spokes of a network will reduce fares in the markets it serves. This effect arises because of economies of density on the spokes. For example, since a large network (as measured by the number of city pairs that it connects) is expected to have low costs per passenger as a result of high traffic densities, fares in the individual markets served should be low, other things equal. Similarly, holding size fixed, a network that connects large cities should have higher traffic densities on its spokes (and thus lower fares in individual markets) than one serving small cities. Our empirical analysis supports these predictions. We find that network characteristics are important determinants of fares in 4-segment city-pair markets (these are markets requiring a connection at the hub). Furthermore, our empirical model predicts that the TWA-Ozark and Northwest-Republic mergers should have reduced fares in the 4-segment markets served by the hubs at St. Louis and Minneapolis.

Suggested Citation

Jan K. Brueckner, Nichola J. Dyer and Pablo T. Spiller (1992) “Fare determination in airline hub-and-spoke networks”, The RAND Journal of Economics, 23(3), p. 309. Available at: 10.2307/2555865.

Phd Dissertation

Essays in Industrial Organization

Publication Date

January 1, 2011

Author(s)

Ana Pesic

Areas of Expertise

Transportation Economics, Funding, & Finance

View Phd Dissertation

Abstract

Three research papers, all broadly focused on industrial organization, comprise the chapters of this dissertation. Although all these papers address market inefficiencies that arise in various industry setting, the first paper differs in theme and scope from the rest of the dissertation. The first chapter, “Switching costs and entry in the mortgage industry”, investigates the impact of switching costs and entry on the interest rate spread in the mortgage industry. I use enactment of anti-predatory lending laws across the U.S. to measure a reduction in borrowers’ switching costs. The empirical findings show that both entry and interest rate spread rise with the advent of these laws because these laws enable low-quality applicants to obtain financing more easily than before. The results suggest that lower switching costs exacerbate the adverse selection problem, so policies that reduce these costs may not produce clear benefits. The second chapter, “Information leakage and stability of research joint ventures in a differentiated product market”, analyzes the impact of information leakage on research Joint venture’s (RJV) stability and R&D expenditure in a heterogeneous product market. Firms solve their problem in three stages: in the first stage firms decide whether to join a RJV, in the second stage firms decide on the level of information sharing, and in the final stage firms engage in Cournot competition. Main results indicate a U-shaped curve between venture’s size and product differentiation when leakage is high. This research can offer a better understanding of RJVs and provide insight into policies and actions necessary to promote R&D and better flow of information in the innovation sector. The third chapter, “The impact of information leakage and product differentiation on the research joint venture’s size and R&D”, empirically examines theory set forth in the second chapter. The study uses data on RJVs from the NIST’s ATP program. As a measure of information leakage, we use a percentage of all patent litigation cases within a RJV that are valid. The main results reveal that information leakage is not a determining factor in ventures choice to include other firms and engage in cooperative R&D.

Suggested Citation

Ana Pesic (2011) Essays in Industrial Organization. Ph.D.. University of California, Irvine. Available at: https://uci.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CDL_IRV_INST/17uq3m8/alma991010832179704701 (Accessed: October 13, 2023).

working paper

Transportation and Well-Being: An Ecological Perspective

Publication Date

February 1, 1981

Author(s)

Daniel Stokols, Raymond Novaco

Working Paper

UCI-ITS-WP-81-1

Areas of Expertise

Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

View working paper

Abstract

What are the costs of our dependence on the automobile as a means of traveling to work? What are the relative costs of alternative travel modes? What conditions associated with transportation may have negative effects on well-being? The costs and benefits of environmental conditions and social programs typically are gauged by their immediate and economically tangible outcomes (cf. Catalano, 1979). When considering alternative modes of travel, individual commuters generally focus on the relative monetary expense, time constraints, and opportunities for privacy associated with the various modes. Government agencies tend to emphasize factors such as community levels of air pollution and fuel consumption (cf. Hartgen, 1977; Horowitz & Sheth, 1976). This emphasis on the economic and environmental consequences of personal . and community travel patterns neglects a potentially important set of transportation-related outcomes, namely, the cumulative emotional, behavioral, and health consequences of travel conditions. These outcomes, while less immediate and tangible than monetary and time constraints and less conspicuous than environmental decay, nevertheless should be considered in any attempt to assess the impact of transportation environments on people.

Suggested Citation

Daniel Stokols and Raymond W. Novaco (1981) Transportation and Well-Being: An Ecological Perspective. Working Paper UCI-ITS-WP-81-1. Institute of Transportation Studies, Irvine. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4z3592qp.

Published Journal Article: Illuminating the unseen in transit use: A framework for examining the effect of attitudes and perceptions on travel behavior

Abstract

This study develops the Perception-Intention-Adaptation (PIA) framework to examine the role of attitudes, perceptions, and norms in public transportation ridership. The PIA framework is then applied to understand the relative importance of socio-demographic, built environment, transit service, and socio-psychological factors on public transit use for 279 residents of south Los Angeles, California, a predominately low-income, non-white neighborhood. Confirmatory factor analysis based on 21 survey items resulted in six transit-relevant socio-psychological factors which were used in regression models of two measures of transit use: the probability of using transit at least once in the 7-day observation period, and the mean number of daily transit trips. Our analysis indicates that two PIA constructs, attitudes toward public transportation and concerns about personal safety, significantly improved the model fit and were robust predictors of transit use, independent of built environment factors such as near-residence street network connectivity and transit service level. Results indicate the need for combined policy approaches to increasing transit use that not only enhance transit access, but also target attitudes about transit service and perceptions of crime on transit. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.