The impact of driving status on out-of-home and social activity engagement among older Canadians

The loss of a driver's license can significantly limit a person's ability to engage in desired activities outside their home, which may, in turn, jeopardize their independence, well-being, and quality of life. This research seeks to quantify the impacts of driving status on out-of-home and social activity engagement among non-working older (≥ 65 years) Canadians, and the distribution of these impacts across socio-demographic and self-reported health domains. Nationally representative cross-sectional time diary data were used to measure the participation rates and daily durations of out-of-home and social activity engagement among non-working older Canadians who have a driver's license (i.e., drivers) and those who did not (i.e., non-drivers). Results indicate drivers were, on average, more than twice as likely to participate in out-of-home and social activities compared to non-drivers. However, the mean durations of activity engagement, among the participant sub-sample, appear largely invariant to driving status. Among the socio-demographic and self-reported health factors affecting out-of-home and social activity engagement, geography appears the most influential for participation rates and durations, particularly for non-drivers who live in small towns and rural areas. Due to demographic trends that suggest an increasing number of older Canadians will be unable to drive, communities should expect a commensurate increase in demand for alternate mobility options, which will inevitably require a variety of context-specific accessibility strategies.     

Using PAR to frame sustainable transport and social justice on policy agendas. A pilot experience in two contrasting Chilean cities

If sustainable transport is defined by emissions and energy, urban passenger transport in Chile could be considered “sustainable”, with two-thirds of trips made by walking, cycling or public transit. Recent studies, however, reveal that gender and equity issues are highly problematic, pointing to tensions between environmental and social sustainability.Given these tensions, a university-community collaboration, the Laboratory for Social Change, developed a pilot methodology to define and evaluate Transport Justice. We sought a relatively simple instrument, a Transport Justice report (Balance de Transporte Justo, BTJ) that could combine experiential and academic knowledge and thereby influence policy and decision-making more effectively.We used a participatory action research (PAR) approach to bring together community leaders and university researchers, and consider experiential and research data, through this “transport justice” lens. To start, we introduced the idea of “transport justice” with researchers in different disciplines and citizen organizations involved in relatively specific battles: fighting a highway, for better cycling facilities, or for reduced road speeds, for example.We focused on established issues, such as universal access, walkability, cycle-inclusion, but added children's freedom and autonomy, the wise city (older adults, heritage, identity), care and land use, and transport impacts on ecological services. Building on this collaboration, we also applied a transport justice survey in two contrasting Chilean cities, Santiago and Temuco.Our analysis reveals that, despite a planning system that favours high-income households whose members rely mainly on cars, the majority of pedestrians, cyclists, public transit and even car users would prefer a redistribution of road space and investment in favour of active transport. During the next phase of research (2020–2021), we will test how well these results are taken up by citizen organizations, politicians and senior government staff from all parties. This will allow us to evaluate its effectiveness as a policy and power distributing instrument.     

To drive or not to drive: Driving cessation amongst older adults in rural and small towns in Canada

Driving cessation, often due to health-related changes, can be a particularly challenging and troublesome transition in older adulthood that can lead to social isolation. While policy makers have long recognized the potential impact of an aging population on Canada's health care and national pension plans, the transportation needs of older adults have received relatively less attention. For older adults residing in small towns and rural areas who rely, more often than not, on the personal automobile there is usually limited or no access to public transportation. For policy makers to respond effectively to the transportation needs of an aging population, particularly those living in rural areas, the first step is to understand the travel behaviours of older adults living in such areas, particularly as they approach the transition when they will cease to drive. This paper reports on qualitative research exploring the driving-related challenges and needs faced by older adults in small towns and rural areas near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Results revealed four major themes: lack of transportation options in rural areas, changes in driving behaviours, the lack of planning for driving cessation, and the social isolation that comes from the loss (or potential loss) of one's driver's license.     

Women's modal switching behavior since driving is allowed in Saudi Arabia

The objective of this paper is to explore if and how the primary transport mode of women in Saudi Arabia changed since they are allowed to issue a driving license and drive, and what the factors affecting modal switch behavior are. A survey was launched as part of the national project She Drives KSA a year after the activation of the decree on allowing women drive. 20,504 women participated in the survey. Data analysis shows that modal shifts happened to several directions. A significant percentage of women (22.7%) has switched from “household car-as a passenger” to “household car-as a driver”. In total, 37.7% of the participants have switched to household car-as a driver. A nested logit model is developed and the model estimation results indicate that employed women, women in the age groups of 18 to 29 and 30 to 39, women with high educational level, and single women are more likely to change from “household private car-as a passenger”, “ridehailing” and “other” to “household private car-as a driver”. Women who are unemployed, with low educational level and from households with low monthly income, are more likely to not change their primary transport mode. To our knowledge, this is the first research investigating such a unique and sensitive topic that is expected to significantly affect women's travel behavior.     

Factors affecting airport access mode choice for elderly air passengers

This research investigates whether elderly air passengers exhibit different mode choice behavior in regard to airport ground access. Using survey data from a Taiwanese sample, our results show that elderly air passengers prefer to ask family members to drive them to the airport, while general passengers prefer to take a taxi. The results also indicate that “safety” is the most important item in the choice of access mode and “user friendly” and “convenience for storing luggage” as the next most important items for the elderly. Elderly passengers are found to be less likely to use public transport than private transport. Factors such as “possessing a car in their household”, “carrying more luggage”, “spending more time spent in the vehicle”, and “higher ticket prices for public transport” increase the propensity for the elderly to use private transport.     

“Open skies” or open clubs? New issues for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

Air transport continues to lie outside the rules of the world trading system. Yet pressures for changes in the management of trade in air transport services are emerging within the bilateral system of regulation, particularly through United States efforts to negotiate so-called “Open Skies” arrangements, but also through new regional arrangements. A new method is outlined of exploiting the trends in regional cooperation and the pressures induced by the United States strategy to facilitate the liberalisation of air transport markets. This method applies the principles of what have been called “open clubs”. The principles include transparency and openness to new members as well as the absence of an intention to discriminate against outsiders. These principles are consistent with APEC's strategy of open regionalism. The paper suggests that APEC is a suitable process within which to develop the application of the open club idea and it outlines the manner in which its principles might be applied to air transport.     

Sidewalk fix,elite maneuvering and improvement sensibilities: The urban improvement campaign in Moscow

Drawing upon recent work on uneven development, neoliberal urban improvement, and everyday urban mobilities, I focus on the ways in which narratives of improvement intersect with infrastructural agendas for roads and sidewalks. While a lack of finances or political autonomy prevents many municipalities from investing in the maintenance of transport infrastructure, some capitals receive considerable central state resources directed towards ambitious infrastructural projects. I build a case about the current massive reconstruction of the Moscow center. I demonstrate that in the context of today's Moscow, neoliberal urban improvement becomes the mechanism for uneven development of the city in question but also of the country as a whole while everyday urban mobilities hardly become more sustainable. The case reveals the intersection of diverse trajectories of urban speculative development, experiences and sensibilities of citizens, and the circuits of power. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in 2015–2017, I contribute to the growing transport infrastructure literature by considering how prioritizing the nexus of improvement and rent-seeking results in subjecting citizens to various inconveniences and risks related to street refurbishment. I use three main concepts to make sense of Moscow's urban improvement campaign. I employ the concept of “improvement sensibilities” to theorize the translation of material and discursive components of the “My Street” campaign into practical and political effects. The trends around coping with transport congestion by introducing higher densities, walkability and public transport connections comprise, I argue, “the sidewalk fix” that combines attempts to restructure the built environment with the aim to continue rent-seeking and economic expansion. “Elite maneuvering” is engaged to capture the ways in which the accumulation of enormous rewards is variously secured by the Moscow authorities, including the use of the rhetoric of “comfortable city”.     

Mobilities of the periphery: Informality,access and social exclusion in the urban fringe in Colombia

The relationship between transport, poverty and social exclusion has increasingly held an important place in both research and policy agendas, particularly in industrialised countries. While this has helped consolidate an emerging body of theory concerned with the social consequences of mobility, our understanding of these dynamics in the context of high vulnerability and poverty in the Global South is still relatively undeveloped. Through the case of Soacha, a municipality adjacent to Colombia's capital, Bogotá, this paper explores travel strategies in a context of scarce provision of transport which, when combined with acute conditions of low-income and segregation, limit vulnerable populations' access to the city. The travel practices, perceptions and priorities of low-income populations in deprived areas of the Global South are analysed, using a framework of transport-related social exclusion, to critically examine the elements that play a role in gaining access to the city. The emergence of adaptable methods, relations and transactions between demand and supply that allows deprived populations to reduce their risk of becoming socially excluded show potential for conceptual and practical development in addressing and analysing transport-related social exclusion.     

The usefulness of social exclusion to inform social policy in transport

This article examines a variety of conceptualisations and measurement approaches to social exclusion and the usefulness of these to understanding social policy as it relates to transport. It argues that there is a need to broaden the criteria to encompass all aspects of well-being, the broad outcome desired to optimise a person's mobility. Understanding of the importance of interpersonal interactions is not well covered under the ambit of social exclusion, thus the need for measures around social capital and community. Additionally, there is a need to include measures of psychological factors, to comprehensively understand transport outcomes for people.     

Social exclusion, location and transport disadvantage amongst non-driving seniors in a Melbourne municipality, Australia

Over the past decade, researchers have refocused their attention upon the interconnection between locationally disadvantaged communities and poor transport services in order to better understand social exclusion. Limited access to private and public transport has often been identified as a major contributing factor to social isolation and economic poverty that certain groups in the community experience. To date, an insufficient amount of research attention has focused on the elderly or seniors, who are often identified as being subject to social exclusion because of difficulties associated with travelling outside their homes to access services and facilities especially for non-car drivers. Moreover, a disproportionate amount of research undertaken on transport related forms of social exclusion in Australia has understandably looked towards the outskirts of its major urban centres, where services and facilities are sparsely located and generally only accessible by car. This paper provides a different insight by analysing a middle distant municipality where large spatial concentrations of seniors are to be found, some of whom do not have ready access to a car or have difficulty accessing the public bus service. Using a variety of data sources for a municipality in Melbourne, this case study reveals that social exclusion of non-car driving seniors is reinforced by a regional public transport system that cannot adequately service the entire municipality. For now, the incidence of locational and transport related disadvantage is restricted to small pockets of the municipality, but as seniors age and surrender their car driving licences this problem could become more serious. The study concludes by calling for more analyses to be undertaken into transport engendered social exclusion if this problem is to be contained as the post-war baby-boomers generation ages across most of the middle suburbs of Australian cities.     

The broader effects of transportation infrastructure: Spatial econometrics and productivity approaches

The importance of “broader” economic effects of transportation infrastructure has recently become apparent. “Broader” refers to impacts beyond the geographic boundaries within which the infrastructure investments are undertaken. Approaches to estimate “broader” impacts in production and cost function models are evaluated. A contribution of this paper is the empirical demonstration with a cross-section of US states’ manufacturing data that ignoring broader effects of a spatially lagged dependent variable can lead to mis-statements of the overall productive impacts of public infrastructure. These inaccuracies can arise because of missing indirect effects and from specification bias that may directly impact the infrastructure elasticity.     

Improving Bus Service Levels and social equity through bus frequency modelling

Bus lines play an essential role in providing urban public transport service. Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics determine the specific transport service needs of districts that, in most cases, are not served by the existing bus routes. Small changes in the frequency of a bus route can have a direct effect on the territorial distribution of a city's public transport service. Adjusting the frequencies of a bus fleet can help planners improve the service level and adapt the fleet's spatial distribution. A bus frequency optimization methodology is proposed to improve harmonization between service level and social equity in public transport. The method relies on a simple spreadsheet that integrates geographic data about bus routes and socioeconomic information about city districts. Simulation and optimization procedures are coordinated to appropriately adjust the routes to the geographic space. The proposed method is tested in a real case study that demonstrates its usefulness in analysing the service level and equity of a transport system and improving a city's public transport planning.     

Walking,cycling, and public transport for commuting and non-commuting travels across 5 European urban regions: Modal choice correlates and motivations

The objective of this study was to explore individual and contextual-level characteristics associated with active (walking and cycling) and public transport as main travel modes for both non-commuting and commuting purposes, in residents of five European urban regions. We also described participant-reported motivations for modal choice for each journey purpose. The study used multilevel models to investigate cross-sectional associations of individual (i.e. age, gender, educational level) and contextual (defined by a combination of residential neighbourhood characteristics in typologies) characteristics with the choice of active and public transport as outcome. Based on an online survey of 6037 residents of Ghent and suburbs (Belgium), Paris and inner suburbs (France), Budapest and suburbs (Hungary), the Randstad (including the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht in the Netherlands) and Greater London (United Kingdom), we observed associations with both individual and contextual characteristics.Results of the multilevel modelling show that the probability of using active or public transport as main mode varies depending on both individual and contextual characteristics. At individual level, relations with gender, age, education, weight status and having at least one child varied according to main transport mode and/or purpose. For example, overweight participants reported lower level of cycling for commuting and non-commuting travels than normal-weight participants. In the context of non-commuting travels, participants with one or more child reported less public transport use and more walking (vs participants without children). Among contextual-level variables, urban characteristics of the residential neighbourhood defined by four clusters (according to food environment, recreational facilities and active mobility opportunities) were associated with public transport and walking but not with cycling. For active transport the most important reasons were “I like to travel (on foot or by bike)” and “I want to be physically active” for both travel purposes. “Public transport facilities nearby” was indicated as the most important reason for public transport (for both trip purposes) – the second was “Journey time”.Our findings highlight the importance of exploring a combination of multiple correlates at individual and contextual level according to journey purposes and suggest that the role of health-related individual characteristics such as weight status need further exploration.     

Development and test of the Perceived Accessibility Scale (PAC) in public transport

Perceived accessibility, defined as “how easy it is to live a satisfactory life using the transport system”, is proposed to be a complementary measure to conventional, objective measures of accessibility. Aiming at capturing the subjective element of accessibility, as opposed to conventional accessibility that is based on the same objective attributes for large areas or groups of people, the authors developed and tested a measure of perceived accessibility; the four items self-reported Perceived Accessibility Scale (PAC). In study 1, 237 users of public transport rated PAC. The results showed that PAC is a reliable measure. The PAC was further validated and proved reliable in two waves (study 2) in altered conditions (Wave 1, N = 246, Wave 2, N = 259). Based on this, an overall PAC index was constructed. PAC can be used to determine the traveler's (or possible travelers) opinion of accessibility in transport planning or accessibility-mapping, or for directing interventions aimed at improving accessibility to where they are best needed according to the individuals. Further development of the PAC and its potential within transport research and planning, and its future validation is discussed.     

Using principles of justice to assess the modal equity of regional transportation plans

While equity has been an important consideration for transportation planning agencies in the U.S. following the passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI specifically) and the subsequent Department of Transportation directives, there is little guidance on how to assess the distribution of benefits generated by transport investment programs. As a result, the distribution of these benefits has received relatively little attention in transportation planning, compared to transport-related burdens. Drawing on philosophies of social justice, we present an equity assessment of the distribution of accessibility in order to define the rate of “access poverty” among the population. We then apply this analysis to regional transportation plan scenarios from the San Francisco Bay Area, focusing on measures of differences between public transit and automobile access. The analysis shows that virtually all neighborhoods suffer from substantial gaps between car and public transport-based accessibility, but that the two proposed transportation investment programs reduce access poverty compared to the “no project” scenario. We also investigate how access and access poverty rates vary by demographic groups and map low-income communities within access impoverished areas, which could be the subject of further focused investments.     

Rebuilding women's livelihoods strategies at the city fringe: Agency,spatial practices,and access to transportation from Semmencherry,Chennai

Existing debates suggest that resettlement leads to exclusion of the urban poor from the city, linked to interrupted livelihoods and lack of accessibility to the city. This paper analyses the ways in which public transport mobility plays a role in the livelihood strategies of women living in a resettlement area at the fringe of Chennai, India. The main question addressed is how women exercise agency in embedding spatial practices within their livelihood strategies to reconnect to the city.The analysis is based on 4 months fieldwork in Semmencherry Resettlement Area in Chennai (India). It combines a qualitative analysis with a spatial exploration drawing on concepts from debates on the livelihoods approach, spatial practices, and accessibility and transport-related exclusion. Results show that the more agency women have to negotiate livelihoods strategies, the better they can take complex decisions on accessing resources over large distances and minimizing their adverse effects.We argue that combining a livelihood with a spatial analysis is important because it shows how spatial exclusion has to be assessed according to women's own priorities and decisions concerning spatial practices as part of livelihoods strategies. Accessibility and recreating relational spaces may both widen women's opportunities as well as overstretch their physical and financial resources.     

The attitude of potentially less mobile people towards demand responsive transport in a rural area in central Germany

Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) systems are often discussed to expand public transport in rural areas, where conventional buses are often used below capacity. DRT systems can particularly improve the mobility situation for less mobile people or other people who depend on public transport and ultimately prevent them from social exclusion. This paper examines whether people who show characteristics that indicate a mobility deficit are more willing to access the DRT system EcoBus in a rural area of Germany. Using survey data from 156 respondents from households in the EcoBus service area and utilizing linear regression analysis, this study confirms that car availability harms the intended use of DRT and that physical impairment has a positive effect, as identified several times in the literature. Furthermore, the influence of age on the intended EcoBus use depends on the residence place's city size and hence on its offer of daily public services. While residents of a sub-centre of the region are significantly less willing to use the EcoBus with increasing age, there is an opposite tendency for small villages. Thus, in small inaccessible localities, the likelihood of using EcoBus increases with age, suggesting that DRT systems benefit the doubly constrained population, namely the elderly population in localities with few public services.     

Making the connections between transport disadvantage and the social exclusion of low income populations in the Tshwane Region of South Africa

To date, the majority of studies which consider transport from a social exclusion perspective have been conducted in the context of the developed world where both income poverty and lack of transport are relative rather absolute states. In a unique departure from these previous studies, this paper explores the relationship between transport and social disadvantage in the development context, the key difference being that income poverty is absolute and where there is much lower access to both private and public transportation generally. Thus, it seeks to explore whether the concept of social exclusion remains valid, when it is the majority of the population that is experiencing transport and income poverty compared with the minority who do so in advanced economies.The paper is based on a scoping study for the Republic of South Africa Department of Transport (RSA DOT), which primarily involved focus group discussions with a range of socially deprived urban and peri-urban population groups living in the Tshwane region of South Africa. In a second departure from previous studies which consider transport and social disadvantage in the development context, the study takes a primarily urban focus. The rationale for this is that theoretically low income urban settlements do not suffer from the lack of transport infrastructure and motorised transport services in the way that more remote rural areas do. The policy issue is therefore less a question of addressing a deficit in supply and more one of addressing particular aspects of public transit service failure, which are more readily amenable to relatively low cost, manageable, small-scale national and local policy interventions.A primary aim for the study was to reinvigorate cross-government debate of these issues in the hope of breaking South African government’s long-standing and persistent policy inertia in the delivery of equitable and socially sustainable urban transport systems.     

An innovative transit system and its impact on low income users: the case of the Metrocable in Medellín

The Metrocable in Medellín, Colombia, is an innovative system to improve access to deprived areas located in hilly zones. The idea to use cable cars as feeders to the metro was integrated into an ambitious urban project that, to date, has improved accessibility dramatically for some low-income residents. Using data before and after the project’s implementation, we evaluate the impact on social equity for the population in the zone of influence, considering changes in accessibility to employment and in housing-related costs. The access provided by the project to the main high-employment centres has doubled the number of opportunities that can be reached by the “target population,” even though travel-time savings and costs have seen only small changes. In fact, prior access to the CBD was poor and expensive, but time and costs were reduced with the Metrocable, although this reduction was not equal for all locations in the metropolitan area. In general, we argue that the main benefits, in terms of accessibility that differentiates the areas analysed from those used for comparison, are related to a localised ease of access to specific centres of activity according to the centralised development of the city’s job market along the mass transit lines. In terms of housing costs, we developed a set of difference-in-difference models that considered rent, transport, and public utilities costs; however, none of them have allowed us to conclude that there was a statistically valid relationship between the Metrocable and the changes in costs between the two analysed populations.