University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

The State of California has increasingly urged construction of affordable housing development in transit-rich areas (California Department of Housing and Community Development 2024) but so far transit-oriented development has generally not reduced vehicle miles traveled for low-income renters (Chatman et al. 2019; Lund, Cervero, and Willson 2004). This report quantifies the cost of daily travel needs for affordable housing residents in San Diego, California, especially seniors aged 62 and older, in two ways. First, it analyzes their trip travel time for the entire San Diego region using activity-based model (ABM) data. Second, it summarizes results from surveys of residents in six affordable housing buildings, three of which provide supportive housing to seniors. Overall, it finds that affordable housing residents use public transit more often than those who have access to a car. But traveling by public transit takes much longer on public transit than traveling by personal vehicle. Survey respondents under age 62 expressed greater dissatisfaction with the costs of public transit ridership, compared to seniors, and were also more likely to express dissatisfaction if they were working. Seniors were more likely to express dissatisfaction with the conditions of public transit stops.