Travel Time to Methadone Treatment Via Personal Vehicle vs Public Transit

How does transportation access to methadone treatment for opioid use disorder via personal vehicle vs public transit vary across different demographic groups?This cross-sectional study estimated travel time for 2702 census block groups in Connecticut to the nearest opioid treatment program via personal vehicle vs public transit. Median travel times from the census block groups with the highest per-capita overdose death rates were 8.2 minutes by personal vehicle and 37.6 minutes by public transit, with 34% lacking adequate public transit access.These findings suggest that transportation access to methadone treatment via public transit is poor and that areas with high overdose death rates, low car ownership, and high public transit travel times should be targets for interventions to lower travel-based barriers to methadone treatment.

Corresponding Author: Benjamin A. Howell, MD, MPH, MHS, General Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208088, New Haven, CT 06520 (benjamin.howell@yale.edu).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.