Abstract
Accessibility of travel may be better understood if psychological factors underlying change in travel behavior are known. This paper examines older (65+) travelers’ motives for changing their travel behavior. These changes are grounded in critical incidents earlier encountered in public-transport travel. A scientific framework is developed based on cognitive and behavioral theory. In 29 individual interviews, travelers’ critical reactions (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral) to 77 critical incidents were examined. By applying critical incident technique (CIT), five reaction themes were identified that had generated travel-behavior change: firm restrictions, unpredictability, unfair treatment, complicated trips, and earlier adverse experiences. To improve older travelers’ access to public transport, key findings were: (a) service must be designed so as to strengthen the feeling of being in control throughout the journey; (b) extended personal service would increase predictability in the travel chain and decrease travel complexity; consequently, (c) when designing new services and making effective accessibility interventions, policy makers should consider and utilize underlying psychological factors that could direct traveler behavior.
Highlights
Public transport should be accessible to all, though it is not obvious how this should be achieved.The proportion of journeys made by older people is expected to increase in many developed countriesInt
This paper explores the link between critical incidents and travel behaviors, as regards the following questions: 1. How do critical reactions to critical incidents encountered in public transport contribute to the older traveler’s process of travel behavior change?
The present research explores the link between such critical incidents and individuals’ travel behavior, expressed as cognitive, emotional, and behavioral critical reactions to the incidents, the focus being on why travel behavior has been affected
Summary
Public transport should be accessible to all, though it is not obvious how this should be achieved.The proportion of journeys made by older people is expected to increase in many developed countriesInt. Public transport should be accessible to all, though it is not obvious how this should be achieved. The proportion of journeys made by older people is expected to increase in many developed countries. Res. Public Health 2015, 12 because of the increasing proportion of older people [1,2]. Almost 25% of the Swedish population is expected to be more than 65 years old in 2060, versus 19% in 2011 [3]. In a group of older respondents and those entitled to Special Transport Service (a taxi service for disabled), 75% considered participation in society to be restricted because of problems encountered on the way to and from the bus stop or when entering/exiting the bus [5]
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