What do we want from a theory of transport poverty?

Transport poverty is an important pillar of contemporary transport research. Yet, it remains a contested concept that lacks a clear and unified theoretical foundation. This makes it difficult to determine under which conditions an individual can be considered transport poor, or how competing policy priorities should be balanced when allocating often scarce transport resources. In this paper, we identify five key elements that transport researchers and policymakers should consider in developing a theory of transport poverty, including the metric of transport poverty, its threshold, and the allocative implications that follow from a commitment to reducing transport poverty. In doing so, we provide a common language for conceptualising transport poverty, informing policy, and structuring ongoing debate. At the end of this paper, we examine how existing strands of transport literature engaging with the discussion on transport poverty could constitute a promising foundation for developing a fuller theory of transport poverty.