Assessment of use of public transport in cities by elderly and disabled persons

The public transport system is one of the key factors determining the economic and social development of modern cities, faced with the goal of providing convenient connections between different areas of the functional structure, i.e. ensuring high comfort and short travel time, while minimizing environmental impact. However, it is worth asking: is creating such a transport system possible, does it exclude certain social groups, and is it capable of satisfying the needs of all users? More and more modern planners and transportation engineers are facing this dilemma. According to many scientific publications, universal design is the answer, hence shaping public spaces and the transport systems with awareness of the diversity of the human collectivity in terms of sex, age, physical ability and health condition. Elderly people above 60 years of age and the disabled, who have various types of mental, physical and sensory dysfunctions, are at the greatest risk of social exclusion. These groups of people encounter many architectural and transportation barriers in their daily lives that make it impossible for them to move freely, thus limiting their access to education, employment and culture. Only through analysis of the existing transport system, identification of transportation barriers, and the appropriate decisions to eliminate them can this exclusion be counteracted and a city without barriers be created – a free city where every resident can move easily, whether they are blind, hard of hearing or a wheelchair user. This article defines the concepts of elderly and disabled people and presents the barriers most frequently encountered in city transport systems. Moreover, guidelines for designing a transport system according to the needs of the analyzed group are proposed. The results of survey studies conducted in Oswiecim and Cracow concerning assessment of public transport and its adaptation to elderly and disabled people are a significant part of this article. Results and conclusions obtained from studies can be an inspiration for other cities that want to create a transport system adapted to the needs of the analysed group, however it is also worth remembering that shaping public spaces and transport “for everyone” is only possible by engaging all parties interested in the problem, i.e. above all, elderly and disabled people as well as city authorities, and then making every effort to reach a consensus between these groups.