| dc.description.abstract | The topic of this dissertation focuses on older adults (people who are older than age 65) because this population is projected to surpass the population of people under 18 years old in the U.S. for the first time by 2030. It is important to understand the social and political implications of the changing demographic trends on the built environment for better and in-time accommodations. It is also vital to identify the relationships between accessibility, mobility, quality of life, and the wellbeing of populations with decreased mobility in an automobile-centric country like the United States. Thus, this research explores how public transit services impact older adults’ travel satisfaction; and how older adults’ travel experience with public transit influences their mental wellbeing and shapes their perceptions of being a transit rider. First, I explored the travel mode choice of older adults using the 2017 NHTS data, especially the circumstances under which older adults would use public transit. Further, I examined the Milwaukee County Transit System’s customer satisfaction survey data from 2020 to 2022 to explore older adults’ travel satisfaction. Lastly, I explored the detailed barriers and challenges older adults who are transit riders face in Milwaukee County and how public transit contributes to their wellbeing and their perceptions of being a transit rider through interviews using the reflexive thematic analysis method. Three key findings emerge from the qualitative sections that encapsulate the core themes of dignity and vulnerability of senior public transit riders, as well as how stigma impact their perceptions. The concept of dignity is underscored when public transit empowers senior riders to maintain their independence. This sense of autonomy allows them to navigate their surroundings and maintain their dignity by not always having to worry about asking others for rides or reduce their out-of-home travels. Public transit can be a crucial means for seniors to feel valued and autonomous, contributing to their overall sense of dignity and mental wellbeing. Senior transit riders’ vulnerability is demonstrated through the prevalence of reckless driving, the easiness to walk to the bus stops, and their sense of safety and personal security as transit riders. Reckless driving, bad weather, and poor pedestrian infrastructure would bring additional threats to them when riding public transit, the increased likelihood of accidents and injury would make senior transit riders feel more vulnerable and negatively impact their wellbeing. In the meantime, the stigma around public transit in the US works as a pervasive force affecting the perceptions of less experienced and exposed senior transit riders, shaping a negative perception of themselves as transit riders, which would make riding public transit more difficult for them.The dissertation is structured as follows: First, in Chapters 1 and 2, I introduce the context of my research and review relevant literature on senior transit riders’ travel behavior and its relationship to older adult’s travel satisfaction, wellbeing, and transportation justice. Chapter 3 presents the research questions and the mixed research methods used in this research. I then present four chapters of quantitative and qualitative studies designed to answer specific research questions related to the travel behavior of older adults and how that impacts their wellbeing and shapes their perceptions of being a transit rider. I conclude the dissertation by suggesting potential policy recommendations and a preliminary framework for accommodating new transit riders from my findings, as well as potential future directions for research on older transit riders’ travel behavior. In Chapter 4, I analyzed the 2017 NHTS data to examine elements that impact older adults’ travel mode choices at the national level. I found that senior travelers were a diverse group of travelers with varying preferred travel modes. They were mostly in good physical condition, had a valid driver’s license, and living in their own homes with access to private cars in less dense areas. Though most of their trips were made by driving, they preferred active travel modes and non-driving modes for social and recreational activities, but they would prefer driving over all other travel modes for shopping trips. In Chapter 5, I examined the MCTS customer satisfaction survey data through 2020 to 2022 to identify factors that impact senior rider’s travel satisfaction with MCTS transit services. In general, older adults cared much more about travel safety with public transit than their younger counterparts, as well as travel information accessed easily through customer services. This may indicate that older adults feel more vulnerable when the drivers do not drive safely and are less tech-savvy and/or have limited access to the Internet so that they rely more on transit provider’s customer service for trip related information. Chapter 6 and 7 used qualitative research methods to explore the barriers and challenges senior transit riders encounter, as well as how public transit contributed to their wellbeing and shaped their perceptions of being a transit rider. I found that travel information accessibility and bus stop accessibility are very important to them. Reckless driving is becoming a serious concern for senior transit riders as it makes being a pedestrian less safe. Moreover, safety and personal security with public transit is a very gendered experience, female senior transit riders felt more vulnerable than their male counterparts. Public transit can bring both positive and negative contributions to senior transit riders’ emotional wellbeing depending on whether it can meet their daily, social, and recreational travel needs. Moreover, there are also vast differences in how experienced transit riders and new transit riders perceive themselves as transit riders. Experienced senior riders perceive themselves as smart, radical, and proud public transit riders while new senior riders’ perception is more shaped by the stigma around public transit that public transit is crime-ridden and mainly a travel option for people who cannot afford cars. In Chapter 8, I concluded this dissertation by summarizing the findings of this research and comparing them with the results from existing literature to inform policymakers and transit agencies to create transportation system that can provide a safe, friendly, and welcoming environment for all travel modes and everyone. I also proposed a preliminary framework based on the findings of the analysis of the interviews for transit agencies to understand what shaped the perceptions of being a transit rider of long-time transit riders and new transit riders. I also suggested future research on incorporating qualitative research methods to include a more diverse sample of interviewees who are transit riders and on rural older adults’ travel choices after driving cessation. For example, transit agencies should make public transit information and bus stops more accessible to senior riders as well as establish outreach and educational programs to better help older adults understand and use public transit. Future researchers should also use more up-to-date datasets as well as more qualitative research methods to understand factors that would influence older adults’ perceptions of public transit. | |
