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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Some population groups have lower propensity to use public transportation than others. The reasons for this divergence in tendencies are difficult to assess namely since some of these vulnerable groups are typically less observed and analyzed. The aim of this research is to study mobility gaps between people with and without disabilities by comparing their mobility indicators (proportion of mobile people, average number of trips per day, and average number of modes per day).
Methods: This research uses two datasets: the Montreal transit authority's paratransit operational data, and the 2018 Montreal origin-destination travel survey. These datasets are used to calculate the mobility indicators for the two groups. To analyze the gaps between these groups, an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method is used. This method establishes which proportion of the gap is due to characteristics of the groups (proportion of e elderly people, proportion of women, etc.), and to disparities between groups. Two Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions are performed in this study: one to compare the proportion of mobile people (who made at least made one trip during the study day) and a second one to compare the number of trips per day for the mobile population.
Results: This research reveals that the proportion of mobile people in Montreal is 46% for people with disabilities compared to 83% for those without disabilities. There is also a small gap in the average number of trips per day in favor of people without disabilities. A portion of these gaps is explained by different characteristics of the groups. There are more elderly people in the group with disabilities, and elderly people are generally less mobile and travel less. Also, there are more workers and people with a driver's license in the group without disabilities and they typically travel more. The gap is also explained by disparities between people with similar characteristics. Women or elderly people with disabilities are less mobile and make fewer trips than people with similar characteristics but without disabilities. Conversely, people with disabilities that work, own a driver's license, or live alone are more mobile than the non-disabled people that share the same characteristics.
Conclusions: This research shows that mobility disparities lead to mobility gaps between people with and without disability. With more information about the origin of the gaps, decision-making can be steered in the right direction to better answer the needs of people living with disabilities.
Language: en |