Elderly users’ level of satisfaction with public transport services in a high-density and transit-oriented city

Abstract

Ageing populations are becoming common in many cities, and their rapid growth may lead to serious transportation issues when elderly users' mobility is compromised by their inability to access or use public transport. It is of paramount importance to provide good public transport services to the elderly to maintain their quality of lives. An interviewer-administered face-toface interview survey was conducted in March 2015 in Hong Kong, an example of a highdensity and transit-oriented city, among elderly residents aged 60 and above to evaluate their level of satisfaction with various public transport modes. In this paper, an ordered probit model is calibrated to evaluate the relative importance of the quality of nine service aspects to the overall service performance. An importance-satisfaction analysis is conducted to visualize how best to prioritize actions for improving each of the nine service aspects. The findings reveal that the interviewed elderly individuals considered seat availability as the worst performed service aspect, with which 17.8% of them were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. The condition of stations or stops is identified as the most influential factor affecting the overall satisfaction level with public transport services. These two service aspects hold the top priority for enhancement. The drivers' attitude is suggested to be improved additionally if resources allow. For better public transport services to the elderly and thus enhancing their mobility to more actively participate in social activities, appropriate training and guidance to public transport drivers are recommended to enhance their awareness of driving behavior and attitude; provision of seats and shelters is recommended at the bus stops typically frequented by the elderly; and the culture of offering seats to the needy should be promoted through education.

Public transport policy measures for improving elderly mobility

“…The attractiveness of railways and buses was higher than that of public light buses. Rough and uncomfortable journeys are particularly unfavorable among the elderly due to their poor physical condition (Wong et al, 2017). In the new era of population aging, travel stability should place a higher priority on improving public transport services.…”

“…This implies that the respondents were less likely to travel using public light buses and taxis than buses if other variables were the same, which is intuitive and representative of reality. By comparing the coefficients of the three modes, we can see that the attractiveness of public light buses is the lowest, probably due to the rough and uncomfortable rides (Wong et al, 2017). In contrast, the coefficient associated with railways is not significant.…”

“…Hence, personal security is not the most pressing mobility problem for the elderly residents. According to the latest research about elderly's satisfaction with the public transport services (Wong et al, 2017), the service aspects demanding immediate improvement, include (1) driver's attitude, (2) the condition of stops and stations, and (3) seat availability. Although, priority seats for people with special needs are recently provided on railways and buses to encourage the elderly to travel by these public transport modes and participate more in social activities, the elderly often have to stand because priority seats are limited and occupied by other passengers (Department of Applied Social Sciences, 2015), which adversely affects their willingness to travel.…”

“…Due to the deficits in the sensory function and musculoskeletal strength of the elderly, it is difficult for them to walk for a long time. Moreover, the conditions of stations and stops (e.g., provisions of seats and shelters) are not age-friendly and favorable to the elderly (Wong et al, 2017). They may have to stand and wait for public transport services under direct sunlight and rain.…”

Willing to pay more for high-quality schools?

“…Normally, young adults seldom go to hospital, so they may not consider proximity to hospitals when making residential location decisions, even tend to live far away from hospitals. Notwithstanding, the elderly are in general more likely to go to hospital (Yang, 2016;Szeto et al, 2017;Wong et al, 2017) and may tend to live close to hospitals for better access due to higher visiting frequency (Li et al, 2013). In addition, it is crowded around highlevel comprehensive hospitals generally.…”