The conceptual mismatch: transportation stressors and experiences for low-income adults. ; Study title: transportation and access to opportunity: metropolitan size, user experience, and employment quality.

DTRT12-G-UTC06 ; Physical access to jobs has long been identified as a barrier to employment and earnings, with prior ; research identifying the “spatial mismatch” between suburban entry-level jobs and low-income workers. ; However, existing transportation research on physical access fails to adequately account for the complex ; role that transportation needs, stressors, benefits, and costs play in low-income households. Through ; qualitative analysis, this study examines the role of transportation in the lives of low-income adults in two ; medium-sized metropolitan areas and how their actual, lived transportation experiences function as ; stressors with potentially compounding impacts. The study finds that job accessibility models that only ; account for travel time and location may not reflect the transportation time tax associated with accessing ; employment for some low-income households.