Quantifying Benefits of Universal Design in Public Transport

Universal design (UD) relates to many aspects of public transport (PT), comprising the vehicles/wagons, stops/stations, and access/egress to/from stops. While some UD elements are decisive for relatively few, others enhance the overall PT quality and subsequently improve the well-being of many users. If the service quality is improved, some users will be willing to pay more, either in terms of ticket price or travel time. Improved UD elements in PT therefore increase social benefits for public transport users, in economic terms, even if ticket costs are maintained unchanged. PT users in Norway have been asked to choose between journey alternatives with varying levels of UD elements between the alternatives. These UD elements comprised: a) on-board facilities and driver quality; b) stop/station qualities: shelter, seating, safety, lighting, information; and c) the qualities of the area surrounding stops/stations: road surface quality / icing, lighting, facilities/amenities, information. In total, 25 UD qualities were assessed, in addition to travel time. Fare was one of the varying elements in the journey alternatives, enabling estimation of willingness to pay (WTP) for UD quality improvements. The WTP yields benefit estimates of improvements that can be assessed against the costs of upgrading, maintaining, and running these UD-related elements in PT. More than 2000 respondents participated in our web-based survey. Almost one in five reported special needs when travelling by PT. Comparing those reporting special needs against those not reporting needs/difficulties, we find that their WTP is similar for most UD qualities, but WTP differs on some particular UD elements. Those reporting needs/difficulties show higher WTP for improved cleaning and air quality on board, and for benches and highly visible real-time departure info at stops/stations. All PT users have high WTP for improved access, without detours, to stops/stations, that have shelter and de-iced road surface. Overall, our findings provide a case for increased focus on UD in economic assessments of PT.