First Advisor

Jeniffer Dill

Term of Graduation

Spring 2025

Date of Publication

4-14-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Urban Studies (M.U.S.)

Department

Urban Studies and Planning

Language

English

Subjects

accessibility, employment, essential workers, nightshift workers, public transit, transportation equity

Physical Description

1 online resource (vii, 98 pages)

Abstract

Non-daytime shift workers--including those on evening, night, rotating, and split shifts--face unique transportation challenges. Those who rely on public transit often contend with complicated commutes and longer wait times on public transit systems that have traditionally catered to the 9-to-5 workforce. Meanwhile, the non-daytime workforce is disproportionately composed of marginalized groups, including low-income workers, racial and ethnic minorities, and individuals with fewer education credentials. For many lower-income workers, car ownership does not present a viable alternative, as cost-of-ownership consumes a significant portion of their income. This makes access to nighttime public transit a critical equity concern. However, most transit accessibility studies focus on daytime peak-hour services and are not industry-specific, with limited focus on measuring or increasing transit accessibility for non-daytime shift workers. Using transit and employment data from the Portland, Oregon region, this study proposes a method for first, tracking transit accessibility across a 24-hour period and, second, identifying which employment areas with limited nighttime service have the greatest potential to reach lower-income job seekers. The 24-hour analysis found that while daytime accessibility for equity populations saw system-wide improvements following the pandemic, the results for nighttime accessibility were mixed.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44005

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