Can You Afford to Work? Transport Costs vs Income in Tuscany's Local Labour Systems

This study investigates transport poverty in Tuscany’s Local Labor Systems (LLS) through the development of a Daily Transport Poverty Index (DTPI), which combines monetary and temporal commuting burdens. Leveraging real-time data from Google Maps and Michelin APIs, along with census commuting flows and income data, we evaluate accessibility for both private and public transport. Results show significant spatial disparities: while central LLS benefit from relatively efficient public transport, peripheral systems face a double burden–longer travel times and higher costs–when not using a private vehicle. The DTPI captures these imbalances, highlighting critical areas where public transport fails to provide a viable alternative. It is confirmed that transport poverty represents a structural barrier to labour market access, particularly for low-income workers in peripheral areas. The proposed index can support targeted policy interventions aimed at improving equity in regional mobility systems.