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Abstract for presentation (Poster or Podium) with a Paper in the Conference Proceedings

Social Equity, Justice, and Welfare

Development of a Causal Model for Improving Rural Seniors’ Accessibility: Data Evidences

Sunday, June 16, 2024
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM ET
Room: Galleria
Abstract: Seniors residing in rural areas experience more restricted accessibility to some desired destinations, which can be attributed to their reduced mobility. This paper proposed a causal model to examine whether people’s age and place of residence affect their choices of transportation modes and, consequently, impact their accessibility to destinations. Using the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data as the information, the paper examined four hypotheses underlying the causal model and determined that mobility is a mediator in the causal path. For example, the data analysis shows that rural seniors experience reduced accessibility for the travel purposes of reaching medical services and assisting others, mainly due to obstacles that prevent them from choosing the dominating transportation mode for these purposes. Besides contributing a methodology for examining rural seniors' accessibility, this study also identified targets for mobility improvement, which are cost-effective for improving their equal accessibility.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees can expect to learn the following from this session:
  • describe a causal model that delineates the relationship between people chararacteristics, transportation mobility, and accessibility.
  • provide data evidences to show that mobility is an mediator in the causal path.
  • identify targets for mobility improvement that are cost-effective for improving rural seniors' accessibility.