Estimating the Demand for Special Transport for Disabled People in Great Britain

This paper describes how research over the last 10 years has shown that elderly and disabled people are heavily dependent on public transport as the majority live in households with out cars and may have difficulty walking. Even in car-owning households, most elderly people are unable to drive and cannot travel independently by car. Although elderly and disabled people are largely dependent on bus travel for reaching destinations beyond walking distance, they experience a number of difficulties in using buses. In the past, many had difficulty in meeting the cost of bus fares because most are on low incomes, but in much of Great Britain this problem has been alleviated or removed by the provision of concessionary fares. Physical difficulties with bus travel—getting on and off, moving around inside while the bus is moving, walking to the bus stop and standing waiting at the stop—remain a problem. However, in some cases these problems are so severe that people are unable to take advantage of the fare concessions available to them because they cannot use public transport. The paper describes how the demand for different types of transport suggests that a combination of modified conventional services, subsidized taxi services and special vehicles providing a door-to-door service for people who cannot use taxis or modified conventional service will be the most cost effective solution.