Transportation Access Index for Remote Communities That Considers Modal Seasonality

Abstract

In northern, remote regions, community access can differ between the seasons due to modal availability. Existing accessibility measures have not been developed within, and considering, contexts where transportation modes are seasonally available. We introduce a new accessibility index that uses a cost-based approach in accounting for seasonality, using data from the Northwest Territories, Canada. We find that fly-in communities or communities with more seasonal variation in terrestrial access tend to have higher travel costs to service centers than those connected year-round by all-weather roads.