Are Safety, Security, and Independence in Mobility Feasible for the Transportation Handicapped In India? An Examination of These Issues through Specific Case Studies

Developing countries have historically relegated the transportation needs of the elderly and the disabled to the background while they struggle to meet the travel demands of the able bodied population. This is particularly true in the Indian urbanized areas with very high population densities and problems of overcrowded roadways. While the severe pressure on both the public and private transportation systems have generated many innovative services such as the use of “minibuses” and “scooters” (three wheeled motorized vehicles), there has been no direct evidence of service innovations for the elderly and handicapped. Limited innovations such as cycle rickshaws in local neighborhood roads may be considered the direct result of growing service demands of specific target groups. However is there any evidence of this awareness of the growth of this target population of the elderly and the disabled just like the demographic projections of many other countries? These issues will be directly addressed through data collected from those individuals selected from the target population in a number of different locations. Data will be collected through a survey focusing on actual travel behavior and latent needs, and the level of satisfaction with their existing transportation options. In addition data will be collected from transportation service providers both public and private to gauge their awareness of this latent demand and their willingness to change their operating procedures and type of services to meet the increased travel needs of this particular target group. It is anticipated that the data collection will provide an assessment of latent travel needs and actual travel behavior of the elderly and the disabled. While the providers’ perspective on their awareness and ability to meet this latent demand will complete the equation as to whether this latent demand is likely to be fulfilled in the near future. An expected outcome of this research will be to provide some recommendations for dialogue between local government officials, private entrepreneurs, and perhaps even representative of the users, and to foster a more demand responsive transportation system as well as to reduce the growing dependence on the private automobile. An associated benefit of a successful dialogue may help reduce the growing problem of air pollution from automobile emissions.