The Relation of Mode and Urban Form for Transportation for Disabled Persons

This paper shows how, in a large densely developed city with a large transit system, serving the transportation needs of the disabled by making the fixed route transit system accessible is liable to be more cost-efficient, in terms of cost per trip and total cost, than providing a separate special paratransit service. This remains true when the accessible bus system is supplemented with a paratransit service for those disabled individuals who cannot use a fixed route system. However, in a smaller city or a city that is less transit oriented, the special service tends to be more cost-efficient. There are several reasons for this. A large, densely developed city provides inherent incentives for using public transit: heavy traffic congestions, high cost of parking, and the high costs associated with car ownership. This type of city is more likely to have an extensive transit system, making it more feasible for individuals to rely totally on public transit. These factors affect the disabled, just as they would the able-bodied, which increases the proportion of the disabled that will use the transit system if it is accessible and, more importantly to the cost comparisons, increasing the number of trips by lift-users per lift-equipped bus. Another factor is that differences in labor costs have a larger impact on the cost of a special service because it is more labor intensive than making a fixed route system accessible. Thus, a special service in a small city will be substantially less expensive than a similar service in a larger city, while the cost per bus for making the bus system accessible will be about the same. However, this analysis assumes that the transit agency responsible for a special paratransit system will provide enough capacity to meet the demand for the target group.