Transportation Insecurity
About the measure
Transportation insecurity means not being able to regularly move from place to place in a safe and timely manner due to a lack of resources. For example, money to pay for gas, a friend with a car, or the physical ability to walk to reach destinations are needed to move around a community or region. University of Michigan researchers have developed the Transportation Security Index (TSI), that aims to identify the symptoms of transportation insecurity.
In 2024, MnDOT added a six-question version of the TSI question set to its biennial Omnibus Public Opinion Survey to better understand transportation insecurity in Minnesota. The question set measures how often people struggle to move from place to place safely and on time based on people self-reporting their experiences.
Unlike other tools, the TSI questions allow people to directly report whether they experience transportation insecurity. This approach removes the need for assumptions and helps identify people who may have gone unaccounted for by other methods. For example, someone may own a car but still face transportation challenges if they are not always able to afford gas.
Including the TSI questions in the Omnibus Survey has given MnDOT new insight into transportation insecurity in Minnesota. MnDOT now has more descriptive information on the severity of transportation insecurity and the types of challenges people face, such as how often they have had to reschedule appointments due to transportation problems.
Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan: Healthy Equitable Communities
These measures help us gauge how well MnDOT and our partners are doing the following:
- Fostering healthy and vibrant places that reduce disparities and promote healthy outcomes for people, the environment and our economy
Where we want to go
The TSI data is extremely valuable to MnDOT and our partners as we work to create a more equitable transportation system that connects and serves all Minnesotans. Moving forward, MnDOT will continue collecting this data every two years through the Omnibus Survey. The data collected on transportation insecurity will serve as a baseline for improvement in the coming years and will help guide interventions to improve access and opportunities for underserved communities in Minnesota.