1.0 Introduction

1 The United States experienced a baby boom during the 1946-1964 postwar period. This event will soon result in the doubling of people in the US population aged 65+, causing drastic changes to the transportation system. The Census data suggest that 12.4% of the total US population of 282 million in the year 2000 were 65 years of age or older. According to the US Census Bureau, the elderly population (65+ years old) was estimated at 36.8 million in 2005, presenting an increase of 1.8 million since the year 2000. More importantly, the number of Americans aged 45-65 who will reach 65 over the next two decades increased by 38% during a one decade period.

2 The US Department of Health and Human Services reported that 3.6 million seniors lived below the poverty level in 2002, while another 2.2 million were classified as "near-poor". The median annual income of older persons in 2002 was $19,436 for males and $11,406 for females (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). According to the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) 2001 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data, while 1.6% of the total 642,292 trips surveyed were transit trips, only 10.3% of transit users were elderly, accounting for only 0.2% of the nearly 643,000 trips surveyed. While transit use by the elderly does not appear to differ significantly from the overall population, there may be opportunities to increase transit use within this particular segment.

3 As the percentage of elderly people rapidly increases within the population, it becomes more important to provide them with innovative transportation alternatives that would help them maintain their independence while also assuring the safety and comfort of other transit users. As a result, public transit providers should examine different short- and long-term strategies for attracting more senior riders by addressing their preferences and expectations and by meeting their needs and limitations. Unfortunately, little is known about the factors that can influence seniors’ preferences and travel behavior, making this an important research topic.

4 In the Chicago Metropolitan Area, the Chicago Transportation Authority (CTA) provides public transportation services including bus and rail services in Chicago downtown and surrounding areas. Moreover, PACE bus service provides bus services in Chicago suburban areas and para-transit services in the Metropolitan Area. Additionally, Metra provides public rail transit services to Chicagoans who want to make trips between Chicago downtown and the suburbs. These agencies utilize many strategies targeting seniors and the handicapped in order to offer better services to transit users and attract more non-transit users. These strategies include; accessible ramps to the stations, buses equipped with lifts for wheelchair users, priority seats for seniors and handicapped people, visual and vocal information systems inside the buses and trains for those who have visual or hearing impairments, and many other strategies. However, the portion of seniors who make their trips using transit in the Chicago Metropolitan Area is still very small. Therefore, other innovative and more interesting strategies should be considered to encourage seniors to give up the driving mode and use transit as an alternative mode of transportation.

5 It has been suggested in the literature that lack of knowledge and confidence to use transit is one of the most significant factors that prevents seniors from using public transportation (Coughlin and Lacombe, 1997). Therefore, other alternatives that have not been utilized in Chicago region, such as fixed route transit services designed specifically for seniors or providing real time waiting information might be attractive to senior travelers. In a large metropolitan area like Chicago, providing a transit service, in which both frequency and service coverage are high, might be impossible. Hence, a practical solution specially designed for seniors can be providing "door to station" services for seniors so that their wait time decreases and using transit services becomes more attractive for them.

6 In this study; a comprehensive survey was conducted to explore seniors’ expectations and preferences about the transit system. Detailed travel characteristics were collected for the four different trip purposes of shopping, doctor visit, social or recreational, and work. The survey result provides key information about the characteristics of different trip types made by seniors. Transit users were also asked to rank existing transit services in the Chicago Metropolitan area by answering questions about transit system attributes and ranking various characteristics of the existing transit system. The questionnaire consisted of five parts; the first four sections covered trip attribute questions for each trip purpose as well as stated preference, opinions, and system rankings. The last section of the questionnaire asked respondents about the socio-demographic characteristics of the individual and household including location, income, age, ethnicity, number of vehicles, etc.

7 The survey results provide the opportunity to analyze various policies that may improve the transit system and increase elderly transit ridership. Additionally, the survey results facilitate evaluation of seniors’ perception of transit services. This can be used to develop strategies targeting senior travelers and to encourage them to use transit more often. Due to the lack of other available data sources of transportation planning applications for the elderly, it was felt necessary to increase the response rate and enhance the quality of the completed questionnaires as much as possible. Therefore, various strategies suggested in the travel survey methods literature were applied with the goal of evaluating options that might increase the survey response rate. It is worth noting that some of the common approaches used in other surveys to increase response rate were not found to be effective for senior respondents.

8 The rest of the paper is organized as follows: the next section provides a brief review of the literature and previous studies related to seniors’ travel behavior, then, the structure of the survey questionnaire designed for this study and definitions of different scenarios tested are presented, followed by empirical results and a descriptive analysis of the survey data. A final section presents conclusions and recommendations.

2.0 Background

9 The aging of the generation born during the 1946-1964 baby boom period in the US will bring about new challenges for transportation agencies and transit service providers. In order to handle the transportation problems that the trip patterns of this age group will bring about in the near future, several studies have attempted to analyze and understand the travel pattern of seniors and have recommended various strategies to improve transit level of service. It has been projected that the number of 65+ seniors will double from almost 35 million to nearly 70 million by 2030.

10 Rosenbloom (2003) shows that in the year 2003, 56% of seniors lived in the suburbs and 23% lived in rural areas. She predicted that these numbers will remain steady or increase until 2030. Many of these seniors drove more than 85% of the time and used public transportation less than 3% of the time. This travel pattern of the elderly may help policy makers picture the situation of the future transportation system as well as environmental, land use, and congestion conditions if no realistic solution is considered to shift the travel pattern of seniors from predominantly driving automobiles to using transit services more often.

11 Another new challenge brought about by the increased number of seniors is that it is projected by 2020 over 80% of all Americans including seniors will be licensed drivers, including the 100% of males and 60-90% of females who will retire as licensed drivers (Burkhardt et al., 1998; Evans, 1999; Rosenbloom, 2001 and Alsnih and Hensher, 2003). Studies have shown that individuals tend to maintain their travel behavior even after a lifecycle change, therefore, it is expected that the seniors of 2030 will still prefer to use their private car rather than changing their travel mode. The expected increase in the number of aged licensed drivers is significant and should be carefully considered in order to prevent or alleviate the effects of the projected traffic situation and safety related problems in the near future. Planning for and solving the impending senior traffic problem requires understanding their needs and the traffic attributes which affect their mode choice. If the influential factors that affect seniors’ travel behavior are not known, useful and practical solutions may not be offered to mitigate the anticipated congestion and safety problems.

12 Contrary to common belief, seniors do not reduce their number of trips once they retire. Bush (2005) found that 75 years of age can be considered the time when a decrease in travel occurs. There are many factors influencing seniors’ travel choices. Stern (1993) found that age, sex, marital status, education level, and walking difficulties have greatly affected seniors’ transportation decisions. Schmocker, et al., (2005) further asserted that disabilities (particularly, walking difficulties), household structure, ethnic background, difficulty in understanding directions, age, car availability, geography, possession of a drivers license, and household income have significantly influenced the number of trips seniors and people with disabilities make.

13 Consequently, before recommending any policy alternatives to change seniors’ travel behavior and encouraging them to use transit more, it is important to understand the severity of the problem and to identify the important influential factors. Rosenbloom (2003) recommended explicitly planning for seniors’ mobility needs by targeting public transit services and facilities that are specifically planned for seniors, supporting alternative public transportation options, and improving highway and street infrastructure. Applying market research techniques, Koffman (2001) compared different improvements and technologies that may motivate seniors to use public transportation more frequently. He concluded that bus stop information, telephone information, and vehicle clearance are the least attractive improvements for seniors. The U.S. Department of Transportation (2003) recommended developing and evaluating public transportation best practices for seniors and developing comprehensive, one-call-does-it-all mobility managers to coordinate local providers and their services. These approaches, however, can be very challenging, especially in suburban or rural communities. In another study, Burkhart and Eberhard (2003) looked at seniors’ transportation mobility issues and emphasized that low-density areas need more cost-effective public transportation solutions.

14 For more than a decade, researchers have considered issues related to transportation in an aging society. In 1999 a conference with topics related to the problems caused by increased elderly population, was held in Bathesda, Maryland and reported in the proceedings of the Transportation Research Board (TRB, 1999). As reported by many researchers, it appears that the availability of practical information and datasets is one of the biggest challenges in studying seniors’ travel behavior. This limits our ability to examine strategies that can increase senior transit ridership. Therefore, there is a vital and urgent need to evaluate strategies that are able to encourage seniors to give up driving and switch to transit alternatives.

15 In this study, a survey of the elderly was designed and conducted to collect the required data from the senior population in the Northeastern Illinois region. Senior travel attributes and needs were collected, making it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of various policy scenarios and service or technology solutions in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. The survey was designed considering guidelines recommended in Stopher et al. (2004).

3.0 Survey Structure

16 The survey questionnaire designed for this study was five pages long on legal size paper and was prepared in booklet form. It contained all the critical questions in an easy-to-read format. The font was Times New Roman and the letter size was no smaller than 12 points per inch to allow for easy reading. The booklet format made this survey as manageable and as easy to grasp as possible.

17 The questionnaire had five parts. Each of the first four parts focused on a particular type of trip: the respondents’ most recent shopping trip; doctor’s visit; social/recreational trip and work trip. Each of these parts listed the trip type in boldface, followed by symbols that illustrated the trip type. This may have helped respondents focus on the trip type being discussed. The research team placed the most common trip types first to increase the likelihood that respondents would answer the questions.

18 The fifth part was shown at the end of the booklet because it asked about respondents’ socio-economic information. Given the personal nature of this data, the research team wanted to develop a rapport with the respondents before asking them personal questions. They also used euphemisms, which would likely increase respondents’ willingness to answer these questions (such as using physical limitations for physical disabilities). To help respondents recall their travel behavior, the research team only asked respondents about their most recent trip for each of the above trip types. This technique seemed to increase the quality of the answers.

19 In each of the first four sections, the research team asked respondents about their most recent trip characteristics, including their travel mode, trip frequency, trip length, origin, and destination. Other questions included trip cost, if any; trip length; waiting time for the vehicle, and mode of travel from the transit stop to the final destination if public transportation were used. These strategies and alternatives were selected from those suggested in the literature as the most preferable alternatives to resolve problems resulting from the increase in senior population (Stopher et al., 2004 and Smiley, 1999). The respondents were also asked about potential incentives that might encourage them to switch to public transportation or use it more frequently, including service improvements and technological conveniences. The service improvements were:

• Reducing fares;
• Providing shuttle access to public transportation;
• Having brochures with schedules;
• Having brochures, which describe how to use transit;
• Increasing service frequency;
• Operating more services on weekends and holidays;
• Operating fixed routes specifically planned for seniors;
• Adhering to the schedule more;
• Adding early morning or evening services;

• Providing more wheelchair lifts and ramps;
• Having lower height buses;
• Providing audio-visual displays;
• Installing station telephones;
• Providing Braille signage;
• Displaying real time expected wait time information at stops and stations; and
• Providing real time transit information on cell phones.

20 The subsequent section of the general trip attributes asked the respondent if he/she made his/her most recent trip biking, walking or using a wheelchair, and what the travel time for the trip was. If the respondent made the trip using any transit services, the non-motorized mode attributes section was skipped and questions about the cost and attributes of the transit mode were answered.

21 In the transit attributes section, initially, the respondent was asked how they paid the transit fare including cash/single ticket, 10-ride ticket, Monthly Transit Pass, Chicago Card Plus and several other options. Next, it was asked whether a reduced fare was used and then in-vehicle travel time and transit wait time were recorded. Alternatives to transit were the topic of the next question which provided information about the mode that might be used if transit were not used. The cost of transit was the last question in this part, followed by questions asking respondents to rate the quality of transit services. The rating table questions required the respondent to rate the service and equipment provided by the transit service that was used in the most recent trip. Finally, the last section in each trip purpose was about the cost and travel time if auto drive or taxi modes were used. The same structure was repeated for the other trip purposes.

22 The only difference among the question sheets for different trip purposes was that there was an option box "same as shopping trip" in doctor visit, social and recreational, and work trip question sheets that allowed respondents to check mark it if answers to some of the questions such as improvements and technologies and transit ratings are the same as their response on the shopping trip question page.

23 In the final section, the research team asked about respondents’ socio-economic attributes, such as age, ethnicity, income, residence, vehicle ownership, cell phone and/or Internet use, and employment status. The research team also asked the respondents whether they could contact them with follow-up surveys and/or phone calls.

4.0 Experimental Results and Data Analysis

5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations

47 Despite commonly held beliefs, seniors greatly lessen their number of trips when they stop driving, not because they get older or retire. The burgeoning senior population and seniors’ reliance on their cars will continue to result in more highway congestion and age-related accidents. Immediate attention is therefore required to develop strategies to encourage seniors to switch to or more frequently use public transportation. However, lack of useful datasets and ample information about the travel behavior of this age group calls for more studies to gather information about the travel needs and transit constraints of elderly people. To answer some of these questions, this study conducted a survey of seniors’ travel behavior and their transit service preferences. The paper summarizes the survey methodology and approach, as well as the preliminary descriptive analysis of the results.

48 Some public transportation data specially targeting seniors is also available via other sources. For instance, U.S. National Household Travel Survey 2001 has less than 200 senior households in the entire state of Illinois sample. PACE Chicago suburban bus service provider also conducted a survey targeting seniors in which 140 seniors were surveyed. Therefore, obtaining detailed information from 280 senior households is of considerable interest. Specifically, it has been shown that the dataset is statistically valid and is the representative of the Census data; therefore, it should be usable for modeling and as a basis for further analysis. Hopefully this study will encourage further research on senior’s travel behavior.

49 A key finding of the research is that seniors would like to have better access to transit services and desire more information about the available services. This finding suggests that providing brochures describing the schedule, real time expected wait time information, and shuttle access to transit would be effective ways to encourage seniors to use transit systems.

50 Understanding the effectiveness of different transit strategies and services targeting seniors will require further analysis of the dataset collected in this study. Developing econometric models of travel behavior for various trip purposes and across different modes of transportation will offer a suitable tool for practical policy analysis. To better understand the behavioral foundations of the observed travel patterns, a complementary survey should also be conducted to study the scheduling behavior, tour formation, and decision process of seniors.

51 In this study several recommendations are presented with the goal of encouraging seniors to use transit services more often; however, these alternatives only represent some generic solutions, where many other detailed alternative strategies should be identified. According to the findings presented in this paper, strategies that are capable of increasing transit ridership among seniors include policies that can improve transit schedule reliability, reduce waiting time and door-to-station and station-to-door travel time. Additionally, it was shown that seniors value lower-floor entry buses more than other semenities such as providing better waiting amenities, for example, benches and shelters.