Older adults love public transit but won't use apps — a transit puzzle
A survey of 5,000 people across three Swedish cities reveals a paradox: senior citizens report higher satisfaction with public transport than younger riders, yet they're far less likely to use digital booking apps and more resistant to viewing cars as environmental threats. For transit agencies and urban planners betting on digital transformation and climate motivation to drive ridership, the finding suggests a misalignment between how they're engaging older passengers and what actually keeps them riding.
Originaltitel: Examining senior citizens’ in public transport: the role of digitalization, environmental concern, and traveler satisfaction
<p>Increasing the share of travelers using public transport is one way to address environmental problems such as carbon dioxide emissions. Senior citizens represent an increasingly important group in this transition, as they are increasingly mobile and make up a large share of the population. In this paper, we investigate senior citizen's mobility decision-making, focusing on public transport. Through a survey of 5,000 people in three metropolitan areas in Sweden, we find that while senior citizens desire to live in harmony with nature, they are less likely to see car traffic as a cause of environmental problems. They also struggle with the development of digital service delivery options of public transport. For instance, they use apps less, and like using timetables on paper and signs at bus stops more than younger public transport users. Even so, they are more satisfied with public transport than younger travelers, indicating that many seniors like using public transport, despite lacking the environmental motivations to do so.</p>