Challenges in providing individual travel support in public transport to maintain mobility

The overall aim of this research project is to investigate whether new service value interventions on an individual level can lead to maintained or even increased mobility through ageing, but also to identify reduced costs for society (e.g. costs for transport services) and a transition from private car use to more sustainable transport. The purpose of this study is therefore to identify challenges in providing individual travel support to develop a program for active travel coaching in public transport based on services that can lead to increased travel by public transport among older people. There are several identified challenges to community-paid travel in today’s public transport. This in turn leads to higher costs and future challenging demographic changes, such as an ageing population, can also help to further increase the demand for costly special transport services. This research study reports results from focus group interview with eight women who initiated a study circle focusing on going with daily travels by bus. Their experiences could be summarized into three categories: dare to show that you do not know, the service content must be appealing to you and new strategies can easily be forgotten. By actively seeking feedback from passengers’ experiences, transport authorities can identify improved services, and enhance overall satisfaction. Service innovation is necessary and new ways of delivering and improving services within the public transport sector as we know it today are necessary. By studying services within public transport and their value, we can identify different approaches to the overall customer experience for older people. Hence, insight contributes to the development of travel training programs.