Happy Mobility
This project originates from a request from the public transport sector (The Swedish Public Transport Association) to develop a training program for older people and people entitled to Special Transport Service (STS) to decrease the demand for STS and the number of trips made by STS, which includes both Swedish paratransit and medical trips.
The overall purpose of this research project is to reduce the need among older people for STS and increase travel options for those who are not yet using public transport. The more specific aim is to develop study materials for a group intervention to support travel by public transport among older people based on deepened knowledge of service values of public transport that older people identify, and to learn more about the usage and perceptions of a new DRT system, since reducing the need for STS among older people call for innovative interventions.
In this project we focus on finding ways to support people, early in their ageing process (from 70 years of age), to use public transport, to increase their empowerment and to enable them to continue traveling by public transport even when they are older. Our starting point is to increase mobility options and through the joy of exploring new mobility solutions find ways to support people to start travel by public transport. Learning, practicing and travelling together should be driven by happiness and satisfaction.
To empower older people to go by public transport, deepened knowledge about public service values is needed. A participatory approach will be applied in the project and older people, as well as representatives from the transport sector, will be involved through the entire project. Qualitative data will be collected through workshops and individual interviews, and a small quantitative dataset will be collected targeting travelers using the SkåneFlex
Project leader: Gunilla Carlsson, Lund University.
Also participating: Michael Johansson, Lund University, and Jonas Johansson, Svensk Kollektivtrafik.