Approaching the public transport : an elderly view

Abstract

Walking is indispensable for accessing public transport services no matter how convenient the services are available to travellers. In Hong Kong, the public transport system is supporting almost 90% of total daily trips, with services provided in the way of emphasizing efficiency as the top priority and to suit the needs of major users of daily commuters. Due to the densely built environment and the complex road network, approaching nearby transit stations may not be a trivial task. Transport facilities and services may not be equally accessible to elderly people who are with lower mobility comparing to younger adults. As the city is facing the problem of an aging population, this dissertation aims at understanding elders’ concerns and thoughts in their perspectives when they approach public transport. By conducting Path Experiencing Survey with 72 elderly participants in four study areas, including Cheung Sha Wan, Tsuen Wan, To Kwa Wan and Hin Keng, first-hand data of views and opinions revolving around themes of major concerns on approaching public transport facilities and services, major barriers encountered when going to transit stations, and areas of improvement in relation to public transport were obtained in the station-approaching walk along pre-designed walking paths. Street auditing was carried out on all sampled walking paths obtaining objective measurement of street conditions, which was compared against the subjective evaluation made by participants. Low level of mismatches was observed, implying high credibility of participants’ comments on street conditions. Elderly people’s major concerns on approaching public transport and major barriers encountered when going to transit stations were found to be in relation to factors in four main categories: environmental, personal, safety and transportation. Analysis results showed that certain concerns and barrier issues mentioned were sensitive to the existence of MTR services, the age of participants and the gender of participants. Such sensitivity was observed in association with the grade-separated nature of MTR services, different level of awareness and perception exhibited in different age levels, and different concern focuses between the two genders. In elders’ viewpoint, having escalators and lifts provided for accessing different floor levels is of utmost importance compared to the need to remove barriers from poor pavement condition and road crossing facilities. The urgency in improving the situation of lacking age-friendly level connectors is supported by results from street auditing. It was found that elders are most eager to have seats and shelters at bus and minibus stops for a better waiting environment, while more frequent bus services and better on-board safety of buses and minibuses are also desired. Continuation and coverage extension of the existing welfare policy on offering fare concession are most welcome by the elderly for relieving burden on travel expense in taking public transport. Other policies which could encourage elderly people to use public transport should also be implemented. Key issues would be to enhance provision of elderly-friendly connecting facilities and strengthen education on the importance of being considerate towards elderly people for showing care and respect for the elderly.