How to bridge the older adults' digital divide in using digital travel services? A comparative analysis between ride-hailing and train E-ticket services in China

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2026

Subject Area

place - asia, place - urban, mode - rail, mode - other, ridership - old people, technology - intelligent transport systems

Keywords

digital travel services, older adults

Abstract

The integration of intelligent systems in travel services presents a dual-edged sword for older adults, enhancing mobility and safety while potentially excluding those with limited digital literacy. Ride-hailing and train e-ticket services represent two pivotal digital transportation solutions catering to older adults' short-distance urban and long-distance intercity travel needs. In this paper, we use two cross-sectional datasets to comprehensively examine and compare the digital divide of older adults using ride-hailing and train e-ticket services by dividing the complete service into multiple operating steps. The Concentration index values are 0.0978 and 0.1367 for the ride-hailing and train e-ticket services, suggesting a more severe digital divide in using train e-tickets. Furthermore, propensity score match results reveal that the more pronounced digital divide observed in train e-ticket than in ride-hailing services stems from significant operational challenges encountered in destination input (steps 3–4), seat information verification (step 6), and online payment (step 8). We also identify the influence of demographic characteristics on the digital divide of travel service usage among older adults, especially for different digital divide groups. Our finding provides targeted recommendations for operational procedures for different travel services, enabling software companies to develop user-friendly interfaces that bridge the digital divide among digital travel services for older Chinese adults.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.

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