In 2000, more than a quarter of Californias Mexican immigrants lived in poverty, and a little more than half of Mexican-immigrant adults had access to a car for travel to work. Despite their large population share and propensity to use public transit, there is a dearth of research specific to Mexican-immigrant travel as well as for immigrant travel in general. To provide insights into this area, we present the results of interviews with representatives from community-based organizations throughout the state of California that serve large Mexican-immigrant communities. We investigated transportation use, common destinations, travel needs, travel mode preferences, and travel mode challenges. From our findings, common destinations of Mexican immigrants included workplaces, grocery stores, health care facilities, social service agencies, schools, and recreation sites. Cars and carpools were described as the primary modes of travel; in some areas with high quality transit service, transit also was described as a primary mode. Inaccessible destinations were associated with ones access to transportation; pursuing job opportunities, access to health care, making grocery store trips, and isolation in rural areas were reoccurring themes. The car was described as the most preferred mode, yet it was made evident that transit is often preferable to driving when it is accessible. Car travel barriers included lack of drivers licenses and costs of car ownership. Transit barriers included access issues in rural areas, limited service hours for commute needs, possible encounters with Immigration officials, and fear of crime and discrimination. Bicycle and pedestrian travel were described as modes of last resort.
Samenvatting