Immigrant settlement patterns, transit accessibility, and transit use

Abstract

Public transit is immensely important among recent immigrants for enabling daily travel and activity participation. The objective of this study is to examine whether immigrants settle in areas of high or low transit accessibility and how this affects transit mode share. This is analyzed via a comparison of two gateway cities: Sydney, Australia and Toronto, Canada. We find that in both cities, recent immigrants have greater levels of public transit accessibility, on average, compared to the overall population, but the geography of immigrant settlement is more suburbanized in Toronto than in Sydney. Secondly, using logistic regression models with spatial filters, we find significant positive relationships between immigrant settlement patterns and transit mode share, after controlling for transit accessibility and other socio-economic factors, indicating an increased reliance on public transit by recent immigrants. Via a sensitivity analysis, we find that these effects are greatest in peripheral suburbs and rural areas. These findings highlight the overall importance of providing public transit to immigrant communities, but transit usage by recent immigrants will vary regionally and depending on local neighbourhood context.