Social Equity for People with Disability in Transportation
Hats Worn
System designer • Service designer
Timeline
3 months
Introduction
For many of us, leaving our homes and navigating the outside world doesn’t require much effort.
But for people with disabilities, our towns and cities are filled with obstacles – inaccessible environments, stairs, unsafe sidewalks and crossings, inadequate lighting – that grow increasingly difficult for them.
On top of that, most cities lack robust public transportation. These challenges combine to keep people with disabilities at home, isolated from social and cultural activities, from essential medical care, from the world around them.
The purpose is
to address the transportation and mobility needs of people with disabilities living in urban, suburban, and rural communities around the world.
Paratransit
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Unable to use the fixed-route system in their location
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Flexible in their scheduling and routing
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Only mandated where there is a public transit system
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Demand-responsive
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More costly to operate than public transport
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Eligibility determined by the local transit agency itself.
Secondary Research
The purpose is to address the transportation and mobility needs of people with disabilities (1).
1 Stephen Brumbaugh, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, https://www.bts.gov/travel-patterns-with-disabilities
2 Fiedler, Matthias. (2007). Older People and Public Transport. Challenges and chances of an ageing society.
3 Carrie Henning-Smith, Christina Worrall, Madelyn Klabunde, Yingling Fan, The Role of Transportation in Addressing Social Isolation in Older Adults, Prepared for The National Center for Mobility Management
📈 Recent Trends
Demographic shifts
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With the 'Baby Boomer' generation entering retirement age, increased life expectancy and decreasing birth rates, the proportion of older people will increase in all societies.
Financial resources
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Rising fuel costs: Makes driving a private car more expensive
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Decrease of public provision: The society systems are becoming more and more unable to maintain the high levels of provision, concerning both pensions and health care.
Urbanism
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The average distance from "home to store/ service" is growing – difficult to reach them by foot, which is the mode preferred by seniors.
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Few facilities are often situated in commercial zones, far away from the city centre and suburban high streets – difficult to integrate into the public transport network
Societal and Cultural issues
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Single households:
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Living alone – due to societal and cultural changes
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Lack the support from their relatives or partners and have to travel to see their families.
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Difficult to maintain a car.
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Cultural diversification of society:
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People who immigrated are most of them are likely to stay in their new home countries.
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Language and cultural barriers
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Not informed about special offers for senior passengers or may feel it is difficult to make their voice heard.
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Activity patterns & lifestyles:
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Seniors spend their time differently from previous generations.
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Seniors also devote their time to volunteer activities or help their relatives and friends.
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Personal preferences are increasingly influencing activity patterns, rather than classical determinants such as actual age and health status.
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⚠️ Constraints on mobility
Age-related personal constraints
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Many older people suffer from constraints that have an impact on outdoor mobility. However, this does not mean that people are ill or impaired. Many deficiencies can be balanced by compensation strategies.
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Aging means a general decelerating of all activities. It becomes also difficult to coordinate various movements/decisions at the same time.
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Public transport should consider not only the physical, but also the cognitive and psychological constraints.
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Particular barriers are less crucial to most older people than the overall effort/stress of a trip.
Mobility behavior and car ownership of older people
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Older people use public transport more frequently than middle-aged persons. They also walk and cycle more, while car usage is lower.
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They cover lower distances and make fewer trips than younger people. Also less time is dedicated to outdoor mobility.
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The number of trips is not as much reduced as distances. This means that trips are getting shorter. Older peoples' mobility focuses on the proximities of the own home.
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When analyzing the mobility of older people, age effects and generation effects must be separated. This means that it is unlikely that an average 75 years old person in the year 2025 will have the same mobility behavior as a 75 years old person today.
Future trends in mobility behavior and car ownership
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Car ownership of senior people will increase during the coming years. This is due to the fact that the middle aged people of today probably will maintain their mobility behavior in old age ("Aging of travel-intensive lifestyles"). It is also expected that mobility levels (i.e. number of trips and distances) will increase within the next years.
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Within the next 20 or 30 years, women will reach almost the same car and driving license ownership levels as men in most countries.
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Even older people benefit from improved health conditions, it is likely that very old people will reduce or give up driving. However, this can not be expected before the age of 75 or 80 in average.
Challenges for Public Transport
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It shows that people will not start to use Public Transport more intensively just because they get old. Instead they will try to maintain the mobility behavior – important influence this process of transport socialization - when people still are young.
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Develop strategies in order to gain older people as satisfied costumers – increase and promote the competitiveness of public transport with the private car.
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Both active and car driving seniors as well as users who relay completely on public transport have to be considered.
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Public transport needs an increased patronage among older people in order to balance the decrease of trips made by younger people.
🔍 Perspectives of passengers
Unmet Travel Needs
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Quality of Life is concerned – impact on mental well-being and social
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Society will also miss the backing of the older generation
Visit family and friends
Grocery and Shopping
Day centre/Hospital visit
Leisure/Sport
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Unclear Schedules and machines
Low Provision
Security Issues
Unfavorable location of stops
Barriers, Fears and Stress
Affordability
Safety, Security and Attitudes
Accessibility
Schedules & Networks
Comfort
Information & ease of use
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Overcrowded vehicles
Ruthless drivers
Insufficient routes
Lack of punctuality
Bad infrastructure access
🎯 Initiatives Implemented
United We Ride (UWR)
United We Ride (UWR) is a federal interagency initiative aimed at improving the availability, quality, and efficient delivery of transportation services for older adults, people with disabilities, and individuals with lower incomes.
The Interagency Transportation Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) created UWR to facilitate coordination between transportation and human services programs. To that end, UWR is working with states and communities to:
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identify transportation-service gaps and needs,
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reduce transportation duplication
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create more efficient and productive services
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provide assistance in building local partnerships and developing coordination plans.
Age-friendly Benches
This program is an age-friendly initiative from the Age Strong Commission. We're focused on improving the City for people of all ages and abilities. Public Works will oversee the maintenance and installation of the benches.
Cited from:
Transportation challenges for persons aging with mobility disability: Qualitative insights and policy implications
Elena T. Remillard, MS, Margaret L. Campbell, PhD, Lyndsie M. Koon, PhD, Wendy A. Rogers, PhD
✳️ Resources Available
Eldercare Locator
A public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging connecting you to services for older adults and their families.
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You can also reach us at 1-800-677-1116.
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Find help in your community by entering your zip code OR city and state
Rides in Sight database
Rides in Sight (RIS) is an information and referral service that helps older and mobility-challenged adults find local transportation options to help them stay mobile as they age. RIS is proud to be a program of ITNAmerica, the first and only national nonprofit transportation network.
GoGoGrandparent
Services include:
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arrange reliable rides
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help you order groceries, vitamins, and household supplies without an app, delivered conveniently to your door
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transportation services for seniors can help you get your prescription medication delivered from your local pharmacy right to your door, and more!
Thinking in Systems
Design is a system in itself, requiring a systemic perspective to address feedback loops and interdependencies, as emphasized in Meadows’ Thinking in Systems book.
Collaboration with stakeholders drives the creation of resilient, adaptive systems in service of societal needs. Through this journey, we can create inclusive, impactful experiences, guided by the transformative power of thoughtful design.
Keeping that in mind, I started looking into the subsets within the entire system of paratransit to understand where an intervention is necessary.
Who are the entities?
How do these entities interact?
Mind Mapping
Mapping the journey
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How to bring a change within the system?
Look for leverage
Leverage
Stock, Inflow and Outflow
Integration
What did I learn?
ONE
Training
Insufficient training or awareness among transportation staff and call center operators about the needs of disabled individuals, resulting in ineffective assistance or guidance.
TWO
Funding
Limited funding or policy priorities for accessible transportation initiatives, resulting in inadequate resources or support for improving accessibility.
THREE
Attitude
Negative attitudes or lack of understanding among non-disabled passengers towards disabled individuals, creating unwelcoming environments during transit.
Systems build societies
Interventions in transportation for disabled people with social meaning, like this one, is not just a passing thought.
I believe there will be an essential shift towards the consideration of social equity in the transportation industry.
Transportation is more than just the act of traveling to a destination; it is a powerful tool that can positively impact the lives of people with disabilities and benefit society as a whole.
By engaging with transportation as a space of social meaning, we can all work together to build a better future!