Public transport and subjective well-being in the just city: A scoping review

Abstract

Background: Rapid population growth and urbanization, in the form land development, exacerbates inequalities in public transport (PT), which may in turn accelerate health and subjective well-being (SWB) disparities. Although extensive research has been carried out regarding PT, there are limited studies considering the relationship between PT and SWB from the Just City perspective. Method: In response, we conducted a scoping review by searching for PT, SWB, and Just City together in four academic databases. Results: We identified 61 studies that met the inclusion criteria from 4026 search results. We shed light on the dominant themes and underdeveloped areas. The first theme presented diverse benefits of PT. The second theme consisted of papers concerning inequity in PT. The third and fourth themes presented studies focused on the issues of PT preference and satisfaction and PT evaluations frameworks from different perspectives. Conclusions: There are limited studies considering the relationship between PT and SWB from a Just City perspective. Inequity in access to PT goes beyond its distribution and, in line with conventional wisdom, crowding has been found to negatively impact the perception of high-quality PT service, particularly for senior cohorts. This points to the need to match the quality of PT with the needs of its most vulnerable users. This study highlights a significant need to consider the capability to enhance PT from a just city perspective.