Older travellers positive towards DRT, study shows
Older people represent a group of travellers who, if a DRT service is designed in an appropriate way, could increase their travel while the service would also give the group greater mobility. In a new study from K2 and Malmö University, researchers have therefore examined older people’s attitudes towards demand‑responsive public transport.
DRT services with “travel‑now options” are currently available, among other places, at Värmlandstrafiken (X‑linjen), Västtrafik (Buss on demand), and Skånetrafiken’s SkåneFlex. According to several studies at Malmö University and K2, many people, regardless of age, are positive towards such flexible public transport.
“The interest from both travellers and from regions and operators is currently very high for this technology and opportunity,” says Åse Jevinger, K2 researcher and Associate Professor and transport researcher at Malmö University.
Together with Helena Svensson, Director of K2 and researcher at LTH, Åse Jevinger has interviewed travellers of various ages about how often they would use such a service and what they find acceptable when it comes to, for example, waiting time and distance to the pick‑up point.
A magical threshold at 10–20 minutes
In a survey of people over the age of 70 in Skåne, 85 per cent responded that they would use the service, but relatively rarely and only on the condition that they did not have an exact time to keep. The majority also accepted only being able to book as late as 30 minutes before departure.
“We also found that there is a magical threshold at between 10 and 20 minutes. Both when it comes to delays in pick‑up and delays in travel time, but also in the time window stated for pick‑up. Almost everyone accepts ten minutes, but very few accept twenty,” says Åse Jevinger.
The researchers also asked how far a pick‑up point could be moved in order to optimise the route, and it turned out that 100 metres was acceptable, but no further.
In another study involving target groups from the age of six and upwards, in which the researcher Chunli Zhao (Lund University and K2) was responsible for collecting the data concerning children, it was found that the level of acceptance when it comes to delays and time windows was roughly the same as for the older group. However, the younger travellers, as expected, had higher expectations regarding how digital tools are integrated into the service.
Younger travellers have different expectations
“Younger people have completely different requirements when it comes to so‑called value added services, such as a digital app that shows where to get on and off, suggestions for travel routes based on previous journeys, and the ability to see where the vehicle is and its planned route,” says Åse Jevinger.
A majority of the older people, for their part, found it difficult to accept booking options other than calling a staffed call centre, even though most in the group were relatively accustomed to using the internet, handling mobile phones, and using apps.
Over the years, various forms of demand‑responsive transport have been tested in different environments, but many of the services have, for various reasons, been discontinued after a time. Previous research shows that some of the most important success factors for a DRT service to remain in place over time are low cost levels and solutions adapted to a market that is receptive to the service. Therefore, it is important to have sufficient knowledge about potential travellers before launching a service, the researchers argue.
In the current study, many of the older respondents stated that they preferred the car to a hypothetical DRT service, but at the same time they preferred the DRT service over ordinary bus and train services.
What, then, is required for more operators to take the step to implement DRT services and also succeed in making them economically viable?
“Many believe that the major breakthrough for this type of service will only come once we have autonomous vehicles, in other words self‑driving ones, because before that it may become too expensive,” says Åse Jevinger at Malmö University.
One uncertainty in the study, which the researchers note, is that the respondents did not have access to an actual DRT service when answering the questions, but instead had to give their views on a realistically described DRT service.
Text: Magnus Erlandsson, Malmö University / Anna Maria Erling, K2
Another version of the article has previously been published on Malmö University’s website:
Stort intresse för efterfrågestyrd busstrafik | Malmö universitet (In Swedish)
The results of the studies have been published in the academic journals Transportation Planning and Technology and Public Transport:
Stated opinions and potential travel with DRT – a survey covering three different age groups– Tandfonline