Problems of collective transport management – obstacles for the mobility of elderly and mobility-impaired

Abstract

The key assumption of public transport is the overall accessibility for all its users. Lack of adjustments or only partial adjustments of the touristic transport infrastructure to the needs of elderly and disabled persons constitutes a barrier for their free mobility. The study aims to formalize measures to improve public transport activities by identifying the problems of the disabled and the elderly while traveling. The article presents an assessment of the current state and recognizing the most important problems of the physically disabled and elderly persons in the mobility in the city using public transport. The research part of the article attempts to assess the availability of solutions in public transport for the physically disabled and elderly persons. For practical simplification, the article focuses on the mass transport implemented by the only possible means of this type of transport for the research is a bus.In line with the predefined criterion, one city from the region of Bielsko-Biała was included into the research – city Szczyrk. In the article, the diagnostic survey was used as the best research method. The basic technique for collecting the empirical data was the open participating observation using the observation sheet. The basic research was complemented by the direct survey of disabled persons with various levels of disabilities to achieve intended results.The research concluded that the mobility of disabled persons in the transport processes was assessed positively despite multiple difficulties and obstacles caused by their limited mobility and the lack of transport infrastructure adjustments (bus stops or information systems).