Analysis of travel characteristics and access mode choice of elderly urban rail riders in Denver, Colorado. (April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Chang; Bardaka, Eleni; Palakurthy, Ravikumar; Tung, Li-Wei
• Is Part Of: Travel behaviour and society. Volume 19(2020)
• Page Start: 194
• Page End: 206
• Publication Date: 2020-04
• Subjects: Transportation -- Periodicals; Population geography -- Periodicals; 303.48305
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tbs.2019.11.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2214-367X

Abstract

Highlights: We compare the travel characteristics of elderly and younger adult urban rail riders. 46% of the elderly Denver light rail riders are employed. Multinomial probit model for explaining access mode choice. Younger adults place higher importance on travel time when choosing an access mode. Elderly travelers are more influenced by station characteristics and vehicle ownership. Abstract: With the proportion of the elderly increasing worldwide, significant research efforts have been devoted to understanding the travel characteristics of the ageing population. Our research contributes to a limited number of studies that have investigated how the elderly (65+) access urban rail in comparison to younger adults (19–64). Using descriptive and econometric analyses of on-board survey data from Denver, Colorado, we respond to the following two research questions: (1) How do trip characteristics, including access and egress mode, trip purpose, choice of station, and travel time of elderly urban rail riders differ from those of their younger counterparts? (2) Do the determinants of access mode choice, such as built environment and individual characteristics, impact differently the choices of elderly and younger adult riders? Our results indicate that the elderly urban rail users differ from the average elderly population in the US in terms of their employment status (46% of the elderly Denver rail riders are employed). Consequently, dissimilarities in travel behavior between elderly and younger adult riders are on average lower than expected, although important differences are still observed. Results from a multinomial probit model on access mode choice for trips between home and a rail station show that younger adults and employed elderly travelers place higher importance on travel time when choosing a mode to access a station compared to non-employed elderly travelers. On the other hand, the built environment and vehicle ownership have a significantly higher influence on access mode choice for elderly compared to younger adult travelers.