Geography of Non-Daytime Work and Employer-Centered Transit Accessibility

Non-daytime shift workers--including those on evening, night, rotating, and split shifts--face unique transportation challenges. Those who rely on public transit often contend with complicated commutes and longer wait times on public transit systems that have traditionally catered to the 9-to-5 workforce. Meanwhile, the non-daytime workforce is disproportionately composed of marginalized groups, including low-income workers, racial and ethnic minorities, and individuals with fewer education credentials. For many lower-income workers, car ownership does not present a viable alternative, as cost-of-ownership consumes a significant portion of their income. This makes access to nighttime public transit a critical equity concern. However, most transit accessibility studies focus on daytime peak-hour services and are not industry-specific, with limited focus on measuring or increasing transit accessibility for non-daytime shift workers. Using transit and employment data from the Portland, Oregon region, this study proposes a method for first, tracking transit accessibility across a 24-hour period and, second, identifying which employment areas with limited nighttime service have the greatest potential to reach lower-income job seekers. The 24-hour analysis found that while daytime accessibility for equity populations saw system-wide improvements following the pandemic, the results for nighttime accessibility were mixed.