Preferred and Actual Travel Opportunities for Older and Disabled People

Several transportation factors concerning older and disabled people are under transition in Sweden at present. For example, public transportation is being made increasingly accessible, Special Transportation Services (STS) are partly being restricted and car ownership, use and driving license possession are changing. Parallel to changes in the physical environment, the group of elderly people is growing rapidly, and this group is increasingly used to living conditions that contain activeness and mobility. The disability discourse has also undergone transitions – from patient to citizen – and disabled people require full participation and accessibility to society and labor market. Considering this, the current research project aims at studying the preferred and actual travel opportunities for older people, living in some south Swedish municipalities. The travel opportunities will be studied from out of multiple perspectives: through the traveler’s self-report, through municipalities and transit authorities’ transportation statistics, and through an objective analysis (GIS) of public transportation accessibility. Focus is set on use of local public transport and STS. The target population is older people (75+) and the samples will be drawn from out of three municipalities in southern Sweden (cities with < 100 000 in.). The survey will include postal questionnaires, onboard studies and collection and analyses of traffic, travel and economical data. In one municipality an objective analysis of accessibility will be conducted, allowing comparisons between perceived and objectively quantified access to public transportation. The current paper will present findings from the postal questionnaire, containing subjective valuations of the self, the general mobility, the built environment and specific details of PT and STS. Compared to previous research results, the current project’s standpoint – individual use of public transportation - will allow for direct comparison between demand and supply. The users’ perspectives will be linked to a systems perspective, addressing cost-benefit analyses of accessibility investments in public transportation as well as systems changes and eligibility restrictions. Based on the prerequisites and how well the preferred and revealed, actual travel opportunities match, a discussion could be made. Therein the societal intentions, in forms of legislation, and implementation, in form of organization and operation of public transportation, are reflected against the transport demand. Does the implementation, resulting in actual travel opportunities, correspond well to the intentions (hopefully the preferred travel opportunities)? The aim and expected results of the current research will contribute to increased knowledge and understanding of the importance that the accessibility investments so far have had. This will in turn lead to efficient allocation of future resources in public transportation, allowing for public transportation to develop in terms of user friendliness for older people – thus meeting overarching societal goals.