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Description
Access to employment, education, healthcare and shopping is essential for any community. For those living in rural communities, these destinations are often farther away typically requiring access to a private vehicle or public transit as active transportation options are challenging given the distances involved and the lack of sidewalks, bike lanes, and other active transport systems. Rural communities can be particularly vulnerable to climate change as they may lack the human adaptive capacity to plan for and respond to climate-related natural disasters and generally possess more rigid transport systems. Our work reviews the provision of rural public transit in Maine and similar rural states and makes recommendations on how innovative public transit, broadly speaking, can enhance mobility and add to rural resilience. In addition, we explore applied and theoretical applications of on-demand transit and microtransit. We note that on-going, stable funding for public transit and rural public transit continues to be a challenge.
Publication Date
10-28-2024
Recommended Citation
Evans-Ralston, Connor; Spear, Kathleen; and Rubin, Jonathan, "Rural Resilience: The Role for Innovative Public Transportation" (2024). Rural Issues Symposium. 62.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_issues/62