The effects of accessible taxi service and taxi fare subsidy scheme on the elderly's willingness-to-travel

Abstract

Taxis provide a personalized, door-to-door, and demand-responsive service, and are an attractive transport mode for accommodating the needs of an aging population. Accessible taxis further enhance the level of comfort and accessibility by providing a larger compartment and a mechanical ramp to facilitate the boarding and alighting of wheelchairs. At present, however, both ordinary and accessible taxis are infrequently used by elderly passengers in Hong Kong, due in part to high fares and long walking and wait times. Because of these limitations, taxis cannot effectively cater for the travel demands of the elderly and hence cannot improve their mobility. In this study, 580 residents of Hong Kong aged 60 or above were interviewed regarding their decision to whether to make a trip by an ordinary/accessible taxi to attend a non-compulsory social activity in hypothetical scenarios. A total of 2320 observations were obtained and a series of binary logistic regression models were calibrated to identify the significant factors influencing the elderly's willingness-to-travel. The model results show that the older elderly and those with a lower monthly expenditure were more reluctant to travel by taxi and preferred staying home. The elderly using crutches or a wheelchair had a stronger preference for accessible taxis rather than the non-walking aid users. The findings also indicate that the elderly were more sensitive to a taxi fare subsidy based on a percentage discount than one based on a fixed discount. Policy measures related to providing an accessible taxi service and taxi fare subsidy scheme to improve the mobility of the elderly are discussed: A step-wise taxi fare subsidy scheme is recommended to integrate with current transport policy measures to look after the needs of the elderly at different ages, and a supply-side subsidy is also recommended to support local taxi operators to purchase accessible taxis and increase the fleet size to minimize the wait time of users.