The Role of Paratransit: Some Reflections Based on the Experience of Residents' Coach Services in Hong Kong
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
2007
Subject Area
ridership - mode choice, ridership - attitudes, mode - paratransit
Keywords
Socioeconomic factors, Socioeconomic aspects, Residents' coach service, Residential location, Questionnaires, Place of residence, Paratransit services, Mode choice, Modal choice, Mental attitudes, Hong Kong (China), Dial a ride, Choice of transportation, Case studies, Attitudes
Abstract
A new form of paratransit called residents’ coach, which provides exclusive transport services to residents living in private housing estates, has emerged in Hong Kong in the past two decades. This paper discusses the background underlying the emergence and subsequent growth of residents’ coach services and the role of residents’ coach in the public transport system of Hong Kong. It also examines if residents’ coach services should be replaced since more railway extensions are now available and, if so, the potential impact of this change on users. A large-scale questionnaire survey was administered that examined not only people’s modal choice but also their residential choice, socio-economic background and attitudes. The findings suggest that transportation policy makers should pay more attention to new forms of paratransit and ways to integrate them into the overall public transport system, both spatially and temporally, since these services can fill an important gap between conventional mass transit and private cars.
Recommended Citation
Loo, Becky. (2007). The Role of Paratransit: Some Reflections Based on the Experience of Residents' Coach Services in Hong Kong. Transportation: Planning, Policy, Research, Practice, Volume 34, Issue 4, pp 471-486.
