Felix Pot (p), Taede Tillema , Sierdjan Koster

Aleid Brouwer

Driven by centralisation and urbanisation forces, the decline of population and services is a common development pattern in many peripheral rural regions across Europe. While most rural households can cope with increasing distances to services as a result of facility-decline by enhancing automobility, some may be at risk of experiencing transport poverty and decreasing accessibility to services. Complementary to identification strategies for transport poverty based on social (e.g. being of senior age) and transport disadvantages (e.g. have no car available), subjective appraisals including individual perceptions of transport alternatives and of an individual’s own competences are theorised to be crucial in explaining the potential to be mobile. The question arises which subjective factors play a role in the experience of transport poverty in rural areas. This paper, therefore, aims for establishing the difficulties potential vulnerable groups experience in accessing services in peripheral rural areas.

To evaluate travel experiences in rural peripheral areas two case study areas in the Dutch province of Zeeland have been selected: Zeelandic Flanders and Schouwen-Duiveland. In the Dutch context, these areas are considered to be very peripheral and are confronted with population and facility decline, an ageing population structure and public transport marginalisation. By conducting focus group sessions with commuters, seniors and high school students, travel experiences in population segments where transport poverty is expected to occur have been evaluated.

The experience of transport poverty in Zeeland is mainly the result of public transport marginalisation and relatively large distances resulting in temporal constraints to access services and participate in activities. Therefore, on a conceptual level, geographical factors, relating to the spatial distribution of services, are argued to play a role in causing transport poverty in rural areas. Also, many ‘soft’ subjective factors such as quality of service in public transport, knowledge of the transport system, information supply, perceptions of comfort and safety, social norms and previous experiences of these factors seem to contribute to the overall individual assessment of accessibility and eventual lower participation in activities. Considering subjective experiences of mobility may, therefore, be crucial in designing responsive policies to tackle social issues as a result of transport poverty.

Ramona Hübner (p)

Aleid Brouwer

Based on the geo-referenced data, I analyze the commuting behavior of employees in Germany. In terms of urbanization and the demographic change, the importance of commuting is continuously growing. With the help of a behavioral economic approach, which is based on the investigation of Simonsohn (2006) for the US, I can show that it is not only the wage and the individual heterogeneity that shape commuting decisions. Instead, the commuting behavior depends on the context individuals observe in the past. In particular, I demonstrate that commuting preferences and thus the commuting decision of individuals are influenced by past-observed commuting options: Workers choose longer commuting times in a region they just moved to, the longer the average commute was in the region they moved away. My results indicate that this effect is especially driven by past-observed commuting options and less by individual heterogeneity, habits and selectivity. Regarding the socio-demographic factor of age, the influence of past-observed commuting options on the individually selected commuting time is the strongest for older workers. In addition, I demonstrate if individuals stay in the new region, the effect of the previous region disappears. This is consistent with behavioral economic prediction, but not with habit formation and stable taste preferences.

Aleid Brouwer (p), Mina Akhaven, Ilaria Mariotti, Gerd Weitkamp

Elena Maggi

The aim of this methods-focused article is to explore travel behaviour, experiences, and preferences of transportation modes and routes of older adults in Milan, to gain insights into the ways that mobility can support active ageing and well-being. We have integrated GPS-, diary- and in-depth interview data to comprehend the everyday mobility practices of these older adults. In order to do so, fifteen adults, aged 65 and over, living in 3 Milanese neighbourhoods (Gallaratese, Gratosoglio and Niguarda Ca’ Granda), Italy, have participated in the study. The findings based on quantitative (GPS tracking) and qualitative (interviews and diaries) approaches together generate different insights and layers of understanding from each individual method in order to enhance the overall picture of mobility in older adults. This applied mixed-methods approach can be useful for scholars and professionals working on mobility issues and accordingly policymakers can make use of the findings to design tailored policies to promote and generate increased and sustainable mobility option for this demographic groups.