Assessing equity of public transport: the case of Palma (Mallorca, Illes Balears)

The practice of sustainable transport planning must take into account the level of territorial and social equity of service. The equity analysis requires a deep understanding of the service and the territorial and social characteristics where it is implanted. We propose a simplified method to analyze the equity of the public bus system that has been used in the city of Palma de Mallorca. The bus service level was calculated from the spatial analysis of the offer and was contrasted with the population and with a multidimensional index of social need for public transportation leading to horizontal and vertical equity respectively. Next the overall equity of the service was tested with the support of the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient. Finally, a sensitivity analysis of bus routes depending on the role they play in the equity of the service was performed