Do Bus Rapid Transit Systems Improve Accessibility to Job Opportunities for the Poor? The Case of Lima, Peru

Abstract

Investments in public transit infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean often aim to reduce spatial and social inequalities by improving accessibility to jobs and other opportunities for vulnerable populations. The Metropolitano, Lima’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project had as one of its central goals to connect low-income populations living in the peripheries to jobs in the city center. We examine the contribution of Lima’s BRT system to accessibility to employment in the city, particularly for low-income public transit users. Building on secondary datasets of employment, household socio-demographics and Origin-Destination surveys before and after the BRT began operations, we assess its effects on potential accessibility to employment, comparing impacts amongst lower versus higher income populations. Findings suggest that the BRT line reduced travel times to reach jobs, in comparison with traditional public transport in the city, amongst populations living within walking distance of the system. However, we also find that the coverage of the BRT declines in areas with high concentrations of poor and extreme poor populations, limiting the equitability of the accessibility improvements. We analyze the distributional effects of BRT infrastructure and services, discussing policy avenues that can improve the prospects for BRT system investments to include the poor in their mobility benefits.

Índice de ahorro de tiempo medio de viaje cómo variable complementaria en la metodología Contribución por Valorización para la financiación de infraestructura vial

“…El gradiente ahorro es una metodología que ha sido utilizada en investigaciones previas para medir el impacto generado por distintas obras de infraestructura vial tales cómo el complemento del anillo del sistema vial urbano de Manizales (Moncada et al, 2018), el impacto a la accesibilidad de los habitantes de Bogotá generado por el sistema integrado de transporte público (Guzmán et al, 2018) y por el sistema de buses de tránsito rápido (BRT) en Lima (Oviedo et al, 2019). También, se ha usado para calcular la mejora en la accesibilidad geográfica de la educación superior en Irlanda generada por una serie de reformas (Walsh et al, 2017).…”