Comparing transit accessibility measures : a case study of access to healthcare facilities

Despite the continued interest in transportation accessibility, it is still unclear how different types of accessibility measures relate to one another and which situations are best for each. The current study undertakes a statistical comparison among six transit accessibility measures (representing three main categories of accessibility models) to determine whether they are comparable and/or interchangeable. Specifically, this analysis considers a case study to measure individuals’ access to healthcare via paratransit. Results indicate that the three categories of accessibility measures provide drastically different interpretations of accessibility that cannot be duplicated by each other. Furthermore, the more closely accessibility models capture individuals’ perceptions and true access to activity opportunities, the more consistent and evenly distributed the results.