Improving transfer feasibility for older travelers inside high-speed train station

Abstract

China is faced with a serve aging crisis, and the seniors’ long-distance travel is becoming more challenging with the rapid development of high-speed trains. This paper studies the transfer feasibility for elderly passengers passing through specific barriers at high-speed train stations. Questionnaires were distributed at Beijing High-Speed Train Station, with 716 valid samples involved. This paper divides the transfer procedure into seven phases, and proposes various points of interest at each phase with different barriers. These points of barriers are categorized into three major different types: Serious AND Common, Serious BUT NOT Common, and Common BUT NOT Serious. The quantitative relationships between each point of barriers and old travelers’ information have been explored using decision tree and binary logistics regression. As a conclusion, we suggest some recommendations for improving the transfer environment, long-distance mobility, as well as wellbeing of the older adults at high-speed train stations. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study the transfer feasibility at high speed train stations for seniors both qualitatively and quantitatively, especially dealing with the complicated transfer procedure.