Spatial role of transfer environments in elderly intermodal travel behavior: Implications for inclusive mobility

초록

As population aging accelerates globally, ensuring equitable and sustainable urban mobility for elderly individuals has become a key policy priority. Traditional path-based models often aggregate transfer barriers, failing to capture the specific physical and cognitive challenges older travelers face in intermodal journeys. This study analyzes elderly intermodal travel patterns in Seoul, South Korea, using fused smartcard and survey data mapped onto a detailed multimodal network enriched with transfer-environment attributes, estimated within the Extended Nested Recursive Logit framework. Findings show elderly travelers differ markedly from younger groups. They exhibit greater sensitivity to physical exertion and to transfer-related burdens, with effort-related factors dominating generalized costs over time or monetary considerations. Elderly place higher values on transfers yet lower values on in-vehicle travel time compared to non-elderly. Escalators appear particularly important for inclusive accessibility, and higher, asymmetric transfer penalties are consistent with an interpretation that mode changes can be stressful for older adults, although cognitive burdens were not directly measured. These results support policy enhancements in aging societies. In particular, our findings suggest that prioritizing infrastructure and planning approaches that minimize physical burdens and potential cognitive loads, such as escalator provision along with streamlined station designs, may help increase transit use among older adults, reduce social isolation, promote active aging, and advance low-emission, equitable transport systems.

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