Determining the transportation needs of individuals with disabilities
Individuals with physical disabilities face many challenges in modern society, one of the largest being barriers related to transportation. The most common forms of transportation used by physically disabled individuals are personal vehicles, public transport, and paratransit services. However, all three of these have many constraints such as time needed for planning and travel, availability, and cost.
Currently, few studies exist that identify specific challenges for individuals with physical disabilities related to transportation. Therefore, we designed a comprehensive survey to document individuals' current experiences with public transportation to gain a better understanding of modifications that can be made in order to increase accessibility.
Survey results thus far indicate that the challenges of transportation negatively impact the lives of the respondents – for example 77% have had to cancel medical appointment due to transportation issues. Thus, the lack of adequate transportation is directly affecting their medical care. Additionally, there is an overall experience of frustration using transport due to many different factors, such as tardiness, poor communication, and an inability or unwillingness to accommodate those with assistive devices. In the future, these data should be used when designing public transport systems or improving other modes of transport in order to improve accessibility for individuals with physical disabilities.
