How can Paratransit Users be Attracted to Fixed-Route Bus Services? A Case Study on Accessibility to Transit in Chapel Hill and Carrboro (original) (raw)
2010, Research Papers in Economics
This thesis addresses the challenges that individuals with disabilities are facing when using public transportation and that also transit agencies encounter that provide these transportation services. The high cost of special transportation for the disabled and elderly and the increased demand for these services have negative repercussions for both these population groups and the transit agencies. Therefore a solution is recommended that has not been recently highlighted in research studies and shall benefit both parties: The attraction of individuals who use demand-responsive services (or paratransit respectively) to fixed-route transit. A methodology that particularly serves this purpose is elaborated and applied here. The pedestrian and transportation infrastructure is analyzed in terms of accessibility in order to identify the current potential that these users could get attracted to fixed-route transit. To increase this potential in the future, also recommendations for improvement are provided. This methodology has been applied to Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina, where Chapel Hill Transit (CHT) provides fare-free fixed-route and demand responsive bus services. The analysis of the pedestrian and transportation infrastructure shows that-according to the criteria developed in this study-one quarter of all bus stops in Chapel Hill and Carrboro is currently fully accessible and almost 40% of the bus stops are limitedly accessible. More than one third is not accessible. Inadequate boarding and alighting areas and the absence of pedestrian sidewalks and crosswalks are the most frequently occurring barriers to fixed-route services for individuals with physical impairments. Accordingly, the potential to attract individuals who use paratransit in Chapel Hill and Carrboro is currently low: Only 13% of users currently have full access to fixed-route transit, applying a walking distance of ΒΌ mile from the user's residence to the bus stop. In order to get access to fixed-route transit, 21 % of the users require improvements of the bus stops and 42 % require sidewalk improvements. By improving 29 specific bus stops, 28% of all paratransit users could have access to fixed-route transit in the future, which is an increase of 15 %. In order to actually and successfully attract users with disabilities to fixed-route transit, a combination of different practices needs to be implemented. Hence the improvement of the transportation and pedestrian infrastructure is only one element of an approach that seamlessly integrates all users and services in one transportation system. Consequently, this analysis and the recommended improvements serve to make public transportation more attractive for all possible users. II Acknowledgements When the decision for my stay at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was made, I wanted to seize the opportunity to do research that is immediately related to the place of this stay and its people. In order to pursue this aspiration I got involved with the Disability Awareness Council of Orange County, NC, the advocacy of the needs and rights of the disabled community in the Chapel Hill region. This involvement was the foundation for the development of a research design, which required extensive and thorough fieldwork along the streets of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
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