(In)equitable accessibility to sustainable transport from universities in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, Mexico

Abstract

The equitable accessibility to higher education favours social fairness in economic oppor-tunities. This paper provides an empirical approach to the assessment of the (in)equity of accessibility from universities to sustainable transport modes: Light Rail Transit, Bus Rapid Transit, buses, and bicycle infrastructure in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (Mexico). In particular, the study designed and calculated an Access to Sustainable Transport from University Index by combining governmental and crowdsourced Open Access Data. It used spatial analysis techniques within a Geographic Information Systems environment, and multivariate statistical methods such as Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis. The findings highlight the weakness in the accessibility to sustainable transport modes from the universities in the Metropolitan Area. Furthermore, this study revealed an unfavourable bias in the location of sustainable transport stations/stops in the vicinity of public universities. The results provide a methodology and empirical evidence for transport policy makers to reduce inequalities and therefore transport-related social exclusion in this under-represented, but socially relevant, student community.