Deborah Mifsud
Thérèse Bajada
Prof Maria Attard
Dr Floridea Di Ciommo
WCTRS Conference
13th April 2015, Valletta, Malta
Overview
 Motivation of the study
 Case Study: Public Transport Reform and the case
of elderly in the town of Hamrun
 Methodology: a mixed-method approach focusing
on three transport equity indicators
 Results: Comparisons between frequent and
infrequent bus users in Hamrun, supported by
qualitative analysis
 Significance of the study
 Further work
Motivation
 In 2011, the 60+ population was 98,786 (23.7% of the
population). This showed an increase of 28% (+21,352) from
2005.
 NSO (2012) shows that elderly are the second segment of the
population with a greater risk-of-poverty:
 For persons 65+, 18.5% resulted to be at-risk-of-poverty
(compared with 14.5% for 0-64 age group).
 The average disposable income in one person households
aged under 65 was €10,080; for 65+ (living alone) it was
€8,577.
 89% of all persons lived in households that had a car. This
percentage stood at 64% among elderly persons.
Motivation (cont.)
 Transport equity is not particularly considered in Malta.
 Land transport policy is fragmented between different
institutions namely: Malta Environment and Planning
Authority, Transport Malta and Ministry for Transport
and Infrastructure.
 The study focuses on Public Transport Accessibility as a key
transport equity indicator and uses “Information” and
“Comfort” as two supporting indicators.
 It will help to guide policies and further research within the
Maltese ageing society.
Case Study
 A new operator(Arriva Malta) started on the 3rd July 2011. In
December 2013 Arriva Malta left the country. The service was
temporarily nationalised for a year, until Autobuses de León
(ALESA) took over in January 2015.
TM (2011)
Case Study (cont.)
 Some of the objectives of the reform were related to the
three indicators analysed in this study. Some examples are:
 Fully accessible and air conditioned buses with low-
floor access and priority seats.
 Electronic displays on the bus and bus stops.
 Changes in the fare structure. For elderly users, the price
prior the reform was of €0.23 for every trip, and after the
reform it became €0.50 for a whole day.
Case Study (cont.)
Hamrun is one of the localities in Malta with the highest elderly
population. In 2011, elderly people (60+) amounted to 3,067 (34%
of the town’s entire population).
 Hamrun had an old age
dependency ratio of 40.6 in 2011
compared with the average of
26.5 in the Northern Harbour
Region.
 Hamrun has a linear pattern that
follows its main road, St. Joseph’s
High Road: a through route
towards Valletta.
Methodology
Quantitative Analysis
 Findings from a “Project on the assessment of key success
indicators for the Public Transport Reform in Malta ”. A key
indicator was the Customer Satisfaction Survey. These were
conducted in Spring 2011, Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Spring
2013 and Spring 2014.
 Part One was filled up by all respondents.
 Part Two used an in-depth structured approach and was filled
up by infrequent or non-public transport users (5-point Likert
Scale). Twenty-nine indicators were divided in eight categories.
 The three indicators used for this research were: Accessibility,
Information and Comfort.
 Part Three used an exploratory method and was filled up by
frequent bus users.
Methodology (cont.)
Spring
2011
Autumn
2011
Spring
2012
Spring
2013
Spring
2014
Hamrun Total
Respondents
67
Hamrun Elderly
Respondents
29
Percentage
66
32
48
67
42
62
68
42
62
67
33
49
Accessibility
Entry/Exits
Transfer to other modes
Ticket Availability
Fare (value for money)
Information
General Information
Travel Information
Operational Information
43
Comfort
Outside facilities
Seating on board
Ride Comfort
Ambient Conditions
Other Facilities
Methodology (cont.)
Qualitative Analysis
 Photographs of bus-related infrastructure
along the main road of Hamrun, St. Joseph’s
High Road.
 There are six bus stop locations along St.
Joseph High Road.
 Photographs were analysed through Thematic
Analysis using Atlas.ti (2013).
 This research focused on three indicators
(accessibility, information, and comfort) to
evaluate the extent to which they are
implemented considering transport equity for
the elderly.
Bajada T. (2010, 2011)
Results and Analysis: Socio Economic and Mobility
Characteristics
 The percentage of elderly people without a driving licence
exceeded those in possession of a driving licence. The highest
discrepancy was recorded in Autumn 2011 (75% without a
driving licence vs. 25% with a driving licence). However car
availability was high.
 The absolute majority of elderly in Hamrun live within a very
close distance to a bus stop (5-10 minutes).
 The dominant travel purposes were errands, shopping and
visiting relatives, and the main modes of transport were either by
car or on foot. This could indicate new mobility patterns: a
similarity to non-work trips for all people.
Results and Analysis: Perceptions of elderly non-bus users
Accessibility
Spring 2011
Fare
Autumn 2011
Sring 2012
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
Transfer to other
modes
Ticket
Availability
Spring 2011
Autumn 2011
Sring 2012
1
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
2
Spring 2011
3
Autumn 2011
4
Sring 2012
5
Spring 2013
Don't know
Spring 2014
Entry/Exits
Spring 2011
Autumn 2011
Sring 2012
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
0
20
40
60
Percentage
80
100
Results and Analysis: Perceptions of elderly non-bus users (cont.)
Information
Operational
Information
Spring 2011
Autumn 2011
Sring 2012
Spring 2013
General Information
Travel Information
Spring 2014
Spring 2011
1
Autumn 2011
2
Sring 2012
3
Spring 2013
4
Spring 2014
5
Don't know
Spring 2011
Autumn 2011
Sring 2012
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
0
20
40
60
Percentage
80
100
Outside
Facilities
Seating on
Board
Ride Comfort
Ambient
Conditions
Other
facilities
Results and Analysis: Perceptions of elderly non-bus users (cont.)
Comfort
Spring 2011
Autumn 2011
Sring 2012
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
Spring 2011
Autumn 2011
Sring 2012
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
Spring 2011
Autumn 2011
Sring 2012
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
Spring 2011
Autumn 2011
Sring 2012
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
Spring 2011
Autumn 2011
Sring 2012
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
1
2
3
4
5
Don't
know
0
10
20
30
40
50
Percentage
60
70
80
90
100
Results and Analysis: Frequent Bus Users
Spring 2011
Comfort
Outside Facilities
1
2
Ambient Conditions
3
4
5
Fare (value for money)
Autumn 2011
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Percentage of respondents
40
Outside Facilities
1
Comfort
Accessibi
lity
Ride Comfort
2
3
Seating on board
4
5
Ride Comfort
0
10
20
30
40
50
Results and Analysis: Frequent Bus Users (cont.)
Infor
matio
n
Spring 2012
Travel Information
Comfort
Ride Comfort
1
2
Ambient Conditions
3
Accessibilit
y
Seating on board
Fare (value for money)
Informati
on
Travel Information
1
Seating on board
2
3
Ride Comfort
4
Ambient Conditions
Comfort
Inform
ation
0
Outside Facilities
Comfort
5
Ticketing Availability
Spring 2013
5
Fare (value for money)
Accessibility for elderly
0
20
Percentage
40
60
5
10
15
Percentage
20
Spring 2014
Travel Information
General Information
Ambient Conditions
1
Outside Faciltiies
2
3
Seating on Board
4
Ride Comfort
Accessibi
lity
Accessibility
4
5
Fare (value for money)
Entry/Exit
0
10
20
30
Percentage
40
50
60
Qualitative Analysis
Blata l-Bajda
Kanun
Perez
Photo credit: T. Bajada 2015
Diego
Kanun
Qualitative Analysis (cont.)
The infrastructure of bus stops differ:
 Most bus stops in Hamrun (e.g. Kanun, Perez) have no
seating and are on narrow pavements
 Road is very difficult to cross, thus traffic lights improve
accessibility for elderly persons.
 Only the bus stop “Diego” can be accessed through a ramp.
 Only “Diego” and “Blata l-Bajda” have seating and shelter.
 Quality of information provided is not user friendly.
 “Mile-End” and “Blata l-Bajda” (interchanges) have real-time
information. This is an important aspect for security
perception by elderly people.
Main Conclusions
Accessibility
 The perception of non-bus users in Hamrun is that the
entry/exits of buses deteriorated in 2014 (after a couple of
improvements after the reform).
 The fare pricing was very positively ranked by all the elderly
surveyed (bus users and non-bus users) both prior and after
the reform.
 The issue of pricing highly correlated with the fact that
elderly people are usually a low-income group. Making buses
cheaper is essential.
Main
Conclusions
(cont.)
Information
 Prior to the bus service reform, non-bus users perceived
travel information negatively; they thought that it improved
in 2012 but then the provision of information diminished
again in 2013 and 2014.
 Bus users discussed travel information only as from 2012
(both negatively and positively rated). Bus users continued
to rate positively travel information in 2013 and 2014.
 This contrasted with non-bus users who perceived
deterioration in the provision of information in 2013 and
2014.
 The indicators Accessibility and Comfort were of more
concern than the Information Indicator for the elderly bus
users in Hamrun.
Main Conclusions (cont.)
Comfort
 The main issue was discomfort on bus stops . This was
negatively perceived by both bus and non-bus users prior to
the bus service reform and after the reform.
 The qualitative analysis supported this issue.
 Positive changes were noted for ride comfort and ambient
conditions. These two factors were negatively ranked mainly in
Spring 2011 (before the reform).
 Contrasting with non-bus users who perceived progress after
the reform, frequent bus users still desired improvement with
respect to ambient conditions.
Significance of the study
 The study is relevant to the national transport system. In Malta
there is one public transport operator.
 The results can indicate the situation of other localities as well as
other transport disadvantaged groups.
 It is essential to highlight equity in public transport as with the
projected increase in elderly, the number of elderly persons who
potentially use the bus system can pose several challenges.
 This research is a preliminary study for further research dealing
with the causes of inequities for elderly persons who need to
move for living. By improving accessibility, policy can improve
equity issues.
Further work…
 A theoretical framework to further justify the role of
accessibility, comfort and information as equity
indicators for elderly.
 A deeper quantitative analysis: a transport mode
choice model.
 Further emphasis on the innovation of photography as
a way to analyse transport equity.
Thank you!