Comparison of public transport factors between the elderly and working people: Case study of travel routes of BTS Sky Train users

Abstract

This research is intended to compare public transportation factors that could affect differently between the senior and workforce populations. A survey was conducted to collect the data by stratified sampling from the two groups. A total of 400 BTS customer responses were collected. The demographic and travel behavior showed that most seniors were car-owners but still used the BTS SkyTrain as secondary transportation. On the other hand, the workforce population did not own cars and used the train as their main transportation. The study of public transportation factors found that (1) Both groups gave high priority to destination accessibility after leaving the stations. The seniors were concerned about the amenities that were different at each station, while the workforces wanted to reach their destination quickly. (2) Both groups gave importance to the time factor especially the travel time between the stations. While the seniors wanted to travel in a shorter time because of the inconvenient, i.e., unavailable seats, the workforces did not concern about the seat availability. (3) The preference of the density inside the BTS was statically different between the two groups when considered at the 0.05 significant level. (4) The price factor had moderate importance. The seniors were aware that the cost of traveling by private car was higher than the train service. The workforces gave more concern to other factors than the price. (5) For the safety factor, the seniors gave importance to preventive measures against COVID-19 because they were in frail ages. (6) The information factors had moderate importance. However, the data showed that the seniors still gave importance to television and radio channels more than the workforces.