Effectiveness of transit strategies targeting elderly people : survey results and preliminary data analysis.

Details

• Creators:
  Mohammadian, Kouros ; Takuriah, Piushimita (Vonu) ; Rashidi,Taha H.
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering ; Illinois Center for Transportation
• Corporate Contributors:
  Illinois. Department of Transportation. Bureau of Materials and Physical Research
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Aged Aged Drivers Local Transit Local Transportation Older Automobile Drivers Older People Public Transit
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-ICT-09-033 ; ICT-09-033, UILU-ENG-2009-2004
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Illinois
• Edition:
  Final report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Illinois Center for Transportation
• Abstract:
  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has shown that America’s senior population has been growing
  
  and will almost double by 2030. This trend continues to challenge researchers who are looking to increase seniors’
  
  awareness or favorable views toward public transportation and researchers who are developing innovative public
  
  transportation alternatives for seniors. These alternatives will try to wean seniors from their reliance on cars, while not
  
  compromising other transit riders’ safety and comfort. The research team at the University of Illinois at Chicago
  
  undertook this study as a first step toward meeting this challenge. To collect information on seniors’ travel attributes
  
  and their opinions about Northeastern Illinois’ public transportation system and potential service alternatives, the
  
  research team developed a comprehensive survey, covering four common trip purposes (doctor visits, shopping trips,
  
  social or recreational travel, and work trips) and various travel modes. These modes included combinations of nonmotorized
  
  travel, auto use, and three commonly used public transportation modes (Metra, Pace, and the Chicago
  
  Transit Authority). The research team tested this survey on a small sample of respondents; modified it to maximize
  
  the number of accurate, unbiased responses; and sent it to 2,000 seniors who have resided in one of metropolitan
  
  Chicago’s six counties. Two hundred eighty seniors sent back complete and useful surveys that provided data for this
  
  study. Most of these seniors were unfamiliar with Northeastern Illinois’ public transportation system and did not view it
  
  as a driving alternative, partly because they view it as more hazardous than driving their own cars and less
  
  convenient than getting a ride from friends or family members. To help change these perceptions, the research team
  
  suggests that Northeastern Illinois’ public transit operators provide printed timetables and maps on their trains, buses,
  
  or stations; increase vehicle frequencies; provide real-time arrival information at stations and on cell phones; order
  
  more low floor and kneeling buses, clean their stations and vehicles better, and provide shuttle services specifically
  
  designed for seniors.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:8b0d4a2b909083f47b5e302d6df65528d9dadc6f5f92e1cdddd7e4ef074ed42c
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/5661/dot_5661_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 959.64 KB ]