Determinants of perceived accessibility of public transport and implications for equity: Evidence, gaps, and a research agenda

This paper presents a systematic literature review of empirical studies examining perceived accessibility of public transport. It highlights the most studied factors and emerging topics requiring further investigation. Based on a conceptual framework for perceived accessibility of public transport, its interrelationship with public transport use and activity participation, the review identified sixty-seven articles from the Scopus database (2004 to 2025), empirically examining general perceived accessibility, perceived accessibility of public transport, and the interrelationship with mode choice and activity participation. The analysis indicates that factors explaining perceived accessibility are often studied in isolation without consideration of the interaction between individual and land-use, transport, and temporal (i.e. spatiotemporal) components of accessibility. Temporal constraints are especially missing in empirical studies. Moreover, intra-group heterogeneity in perceptions, particularly those related to age are often overlooked, while vulnerable groups such as young adults and low-income individuals are relatively less studied, despite being at risk of transport-related social exclusion. Furthermore, the interaction between perceived accessibility by public transport, public transport use and activity participation is understudied. Finally, most empirical studies are quantitative, limiting an in-depth qualitative understanding of mechanisms shaping perceptions. In the context of adopting an equity-focused transport planning, future research on perceived accessibility (of public transport) should prioritize the examination of the interaction between individuals and spatiotemporal constraints while exploring the feedback mechanisms between perceived accessibility, mode use and activity participation using mixed-method approaches.