Transport Research Verne was the first to consider transport poverty in Finland. After a preliminary study in 2018, in which transport poverty was discussed and defined in the Finnish context, the research has continued by looking into data, which could be used to describe the current status and the groups or areas, in which transport poverty is an issue. The preliminary report is written in Finnish, but it includes an abstract in English.
In the preliminary report it was found that in Finland transport poverty is generated mainly by two mechanisms: 1) personal features such as needs, resources, attitudes, physical well-being and capabilities, and 2) housing location and choices that are linked with e.g. housing costs, transport costs and distance to workplace and services. Transport poverty has a strong linkage with transport services and services near the homes. In larger cities, transport poverty is linked to the availability and service level of public transport whereas in rural areas car dependency is the major concern.
In Finland, there are various financial aids to support mobility of people (e.g. income support) and the needs of special groups are considered (e.g. services of the disabled). As transport poverty is a wide phenomenon, measuring it has to include many different data sets. The preliminary study presents the different research questions, indicators and existing data sets with which transport poverty could be studied in more detail in Finland.
A recent publication related to transport poverty discusses travel satisfaction in relation to residential environment and the satisfaction with transport modes:
Tiikkaja, H., Liimatainen, H. & Pöllänen, M. (2020). Satisfaction with general functionality and safety of travel in relation to residential environment and satisfaction with transport modes. Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. Vol. 12, Issue 32. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12544-020-00423-9