The Value of Public Transportation for Improving the Quality of Life for the Rural Elderly Page: 3
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Technical Report Documentation Page
1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
UTCM 11-08-74
4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date
THE VALUE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FOR IMPROVING THE July 2012
QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE RURAL ELDERLY
6. Performing Organization Code
Texas Transportation Institute
7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No.
James W. Mjelde, Rebekka Dudensing, Linda K. Cherrington, Yanhong UTCM 11-08-74
Jin, Alicia A. Israel, and Junyi Chen
9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
University Transportation Center for MobilityTM
Texas Transportation Institute 11. Contract or Grant No.
The Texas A&M University System
3135 TAMU DTRTO6-G-0044
College Station, TX 77843-3135
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Department of Transportation Final Report
Research and Innovative Technology Administration 01.01.11-05.31.12
400 7th Street, SW 14. Sponsoring Agency Code
Washington, DC 20590
15. Supplementary Notes
Supported by a grant from the US Department of Transportation, University Transportation
Centers Program
16. Abstract
Transportation for the rural elderly is an increasing concern as baby boomers age and young people
continue to exit rural communities. As the elderly are no longer able to drive themselves, they rely on
alternate forms of transportation, including public transportation systems. However, such systems are
often not a good substitute for driving a private car, especially in rural areas. This study focuses on non-
medical transportation; medical transportation is addressed in the literature and is more widely available to
the elderly. Because expanded rural transportation systems likely will be funded by taxpayers, an
understanding of their preferences and willingness-to-pay for non-medical transportation options is
essential. To fulfill this objective, a choice experiment survey was administered to taxpayers in three
counties (Atascosa, Polk, and Parker) in Texas and to students at Texas A&M University. Results indicate
that taxpayers value transportation services for the elderly and are willing to support them. They value
more flexible options over base levels of the attributes presented, but they may not always prefer the most
flexible options. Respondents' willingness to pay for attributes was similar across counties, but differences
in socio-demographic coefficients suggests that transportation systems may need to be customized to
meet local needs. Furthermore, the cost of improvements to the transportation systems may be more than
county residents are willing to pay. Students' willingness-to-pay was generally higher than that of county
residents, and the variation in students' willingness to pay was smaller. However, students and county
residents ranked the value of transportation attributes similarly, suggesting that students may be a good
convenience sample for behavioral questions but less so for policy matters.
17. Key Word 18. Distribution Statement
Public transportation, Rural elderly, Willingness-to-pay, Public distribution
Choice model
19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price
Unclassified Unclassified 134 n/a
FormDOT 170.7 8-72 Repodutionof cmpleed age uthoizeForm DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)
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Mjelde, James W.; Dudensing, Rebekka; Cherrington, Linda Kay; Yanhong, Jin; Israel, Alicia A. & Chen, Junyi. The Value of Public Transportation for Improving the Quality of Life for the Rural Elderly, report, July 2012; College Station, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth303655/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.