AFFORDABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY AS DIMENSIONS OF TRANSPORT POVERTY: SURVEY-BASED EVIDENCE TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

Abstract

Transport has been recognised as one of the essential services in the Action Plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights by European Commission, highlighting its critical role in ensuring social inclusion and equal opportunities. There is an EU target of reducing the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by at least 15 million by 2030. However, despite this policy recognition, challenges remain in tackling transport poverty, in particular in terms of affordability and accessibility.

This study builds on the findings of Grīnberga-Šilaua and Zemīte (2025), who studied transport poverty and its related indicators in Latvia. Taking these findings into account, the current study examines in depth the dimensions of affordability and accessibility as components of transport poverty. In 2023, the European Union established its first definition of transport poverty in Regulation 2023/955 on the Social Climate Fund. According to this regulation, transport poverty is defined as the inability or difficulty of individuals and households to afford private or public transport or their limited access to transport services necessary to achieve essential socio-economic activities. This definition highlights the importance of national and spatial context in addressing mobility disparities.