{"title":"Enhancing rural transportation services for older adults: Bridging customer-provider perspectives","authors":"Jie Yu , Yue Liu , Edward Beimborn","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2024.101175","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Rural older adults reliant on transportation services represent an historically underserved demographic, yet their specific service needs remain inadequately understood. This study aims to explore important rural transportation service features for senior customers while identifying service gaps and potential misconceptions between senior customers and service providers. Utilizing data from a cross-sectional service survey in rural Wisconsin, 13 important service features were identified by both senior customers and service providers, and grouped into three categories—basic, technological, and special—via exploratory factor analysis. While consensus existed between seniors and providers on the primary importance of basic features, seniors attributed greater significance to technological aspects than service providers anticipated. Differing preferences surfaced between seniors and providers regarding special features. Statistical tests revealed the substantial importance of basic features, particularly among older females, individuals with mobility constraints, and limited leisure activity. Moreover, technological features received higher ratings from older females, younger individuals, and those with internet access. Varied attention towards special features aligned with diverse older adult needs. Service providers, regardless of their characteristics, exhibited consistent prioritization of service features. Our findings emphasize opportunities for rural transport service providers to better serve senior users by enhancing basic service provisions, embracing age-friendly technologies, and tailoring specialized services to meet distinct user requirements within local contexts.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"56 ","pages":"Article 101175"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210539524000774","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Rural older adults reliant on transportation services represent an historically underserved demographic, yet their specific service needs remain inadequately understood. This study aims to explore important rural transportation service features for senior customers while identifying service gaps and potential misconceptions between senior customers and service providers. Utilizing data from a cross-sectional service survey in rural Wisconsin, 13 important service features were identified by both senior customers and service providers, and grouped into three categories—basic, technological, and special—via exploratory factor analysis. While consensus existed between seniors and providers on the primary importance of basic features, seniors attributed greater significance to technological aspects than service providers anticipated. Differing preferences surfaced between seniors and providers regarding special features. Statistical tests revealed the substantial importance of basic features, particularly among older females, individuals with mobility constraints, and limited leisure activity. Moreover, technological features received higher ratings from older females, younger individuals, and those with internet access. Varied attention towards special features aligned with diverse older adult needs. Service providers, regardless of their characteristics, exhibited consistent prioritization of service features. Our findings emphasize opportunities for rural transport service providers to better serve senior users by enhancing basic service provisions, embracing age-friendly technologies, and tailoring specialized services to meet distinct user requirements within local contexts.
期刊介绍:
Research in Transportation Business & Management (RTBM) will publish research on international aspects of transport management such as business strategy, communication, sustainability, finance, human resource management, law, logistics, marketing, franchising, privatisation and commercialisation. Research in Transportation Business & Management welcomes proposals for themed volumes from scholars in management, in relation to all modes of transport. Issues should be cross-disciplinary for one mode or single-disciplinary for all modes. We are keen to receive proposals that combine and integrate theories and concepts that are taken from or can be traced to origins in different disciplines or lessons learned from different modes and approaches to the topic. By facilitating the development of interdisciplinary or intermodal concepts, theories and ideas, and by synthesizing these for the journal''s audience, we seek to contribute to both scholarly advancement of knowledge and the state of managerial practice. Potential volume themes include: -Sustainability and Transportation Management- Transport Management and the Reduction of Transport''s Carbon Footprint- Marketing Transport/Branding Transportation- Benchmarking, Performance Measurement and Best Practices in Transport Operations- Franchising, Concessions and Alternate Governance Mechanisms for Transport Organisations- Logistics and the Integration of Transportation into Freight Supply Chains- Risk Management (or Asset Management or Transportation Finance or ...): Lessons from Multiple Modes- Engaging the Stakeholder in Transportation Governance- Reliability in the Freight Sector