On demand-responsive transport configurations, traveller interaction and preferences: a survey from the perspective of older people

Over the years, demand-responsive transport (DRT) and similar concepts have been implemented and tested in different environments and in different configurations. However, many of these transport services have been abandoned, for various reasons. Previous research shows that some of the most important success factors for a DRT service to sustain over the years are low-cost solutions adjusted to a market that is susceptible to DRT. Therefore, it is important to have sufficient knowledge of the potential travel groups before implementing the service. Older people represent a group of travellers that may, if the service is adequately designed, increase in ridership, while the service also provides an opportunity for increased mobility. This paper is based on a questionnaire survey targeting people above 70 years living in southern Sweden. The aim of the study is to investigate which DRT system configurations and interaction solutions are acceptable and not acceptable for potential travellers, as well as their preferences towards using DRT. An additional aim is to explore older people’s preferences for different trip attributes, using a stated preference experiment. The preferences and acceptance boundaries open up for efficiency gains, for instance, in route planning, that can reduce costs. The results show that the majority of older travellers are positive towards using DRT; however, they would use the service relatively infrequently. The results also show that there is room for efficiency gains by changing different travel conditions, such as adding 10 min of delay, while still maintaining the majority of the older travellers.