ABSTRACT

Digitalisation in transport services offers many benefits for travellers. However, not everyone is willing or able to follow the new, more or less formal requirements digitalisation has brought along. Existing reviews on the intersection between Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and mobility cover a range of vantage points, but the perspective of how various levels of engagement with digital technologies affect access and navigation of transport services has not been addressed yet. In communication science, studying disparities in terms of ICT appropriation and their consequences is known as digital inequality research. This review paper aims at shedding light on what digital inequality in the context of transport services consists of and what its consequences are. To do so, we define and use a conceptual framework for the analysis of digital inequality in transport services. The review of the twenty-five papers, as selected in our systematic literature search, shows that there is a burgeoning interest in this topic. Vulnerability to digitalisation in transport services exists along dimensions of age, income, education, ethnicity, gender and geographical region. We find that motivations and material access get more attention than digital skills and effective usage. Nevertheless, literature acknowledges that having material access to technology does not mean that people benefit from what technology has to offer. Furthermore, the characteristics of ICTs impact one’s possibilities to access digital technologies, such as how user-friendly a technology is. Data-driven and algorithm-based decision-making present a particularly pernicious form of digital exclusion from transport services. As digital technologies are progressively becoming indispensable to navigate the world of transport services, low levels of digital engagement may create a new layer of transport disadvantage, possibly on top of existing ones. Although digitalisation can be part of the solution to transport disadvantage, it can also be part of the problem. With network effects at play, what might start as a relative disadvantage may turn into an absolute disadvantage. Given the nascent state of research on digital inequality in transport services, much remains to be understood. Suggested research avenues include mechanisms of digital exclusion from transport services, the contribution of digital inequality to transport disadvantage, and importantly, solutions to mitigate its impacts.

摘要

运输服务的数字化为旅行者提供了许多好处。然而，并不是每个人都愿意或能够遵循数字化带来的或多或少正式的新要求。对信息和通信技术 (ICT) 与移动性之间的交叉点的现有审查涵盖了一系列优势，但尚未解决数字技术的不同参与程度如何影响交通服务的访问和导航的观点。在通信科学中，研究 ICT 拨款及其后果方面的差异被称为数字不平等研究。本综述旨在阐明交通服务背景下的数字不平等包括哪些内容及其后果。为此，我们定义并使用一个概念框架来分析运输服务中的数字不平等。对我们系统文献检索中选出的 25 篇论文的回顾表明，人们对该主题的兴趣正在迅速增长。交通服务数字化的脆弱性存在于年龄、收入、教育、种族、性别和地理区域等方面。我们发现动机和材料获取比数字技能和有效使用更受关注。然而，文献承认，对技术的物质访问并不意味着人们从技术所提供的东西中受益。此外，ICT 的特性会影响一个人访问数字技术的可能性，例如一项技术对用户的友好程度。数据驱动和基于算法的决策提出了一种特别有害的将数字排除在运输服务之外的形式。随着数字技术逐渐成为驾驭运输服务世界不可或缺的一部分，低水平的数字参与可能会造成新的运输劣势层，可能是在现有劣势之上。尽管数字化可以成为解决交通问题的一部分，但它也可能是问题的一部分。在网络效应的作用下，可能从相对劣势开始的事情可能会变成绝对劣势。鉴于对交通服务数字不平等的研究尚处于初期阶段，仍有许多事情需要了解。建议的研究途径包括运输服务中的数字排斥机制、数字不平等对运输劣势的贡献、