Transportation and healthcare are inextricably linked in many ways. Some of the most obvious connections are traffic crashes and air pollution, which can negatively impact health, especially for people with lower socioeconomic status. But the connections go deeper than that. A recent report from the American Hospital Association points to transportation as a crucial factor in accessing care and highlights the fact that more than 3.6 million Americans miss or delay medical visits each year because they lack reliable and affordable transportation options.
A robust public transit system can help to mitigate the impacts of these barriers by reducing the need for individuals to own and operate their own vehicles, which can cost upwards of $6,251 per year. This can leave more money available for housing, healthy food and other needs that are essential to health. Additionally, public transportation can reduce the number of miles a person drives each day, which cuts down on motor vehicle crashes and the associated air pollution.
In addition, successful partnerships between transportation agencies and health care organizations can provide innovative solutions to transportation-related health problems in a community. To that end, TCRP recently published an article and research plan that offer case studies of the types of innovative partnerships being undertaken to better link transportation and health in communities. transportation and healthcare