Exploring the perceptions about public transport and developing a mode choice model for educated disabled people in a developing country

People with disabilities are an important part of every community. However, they often face problems while using public transport, which results in several negative consequences including social exclusion. This study aims at exploring the problems faced by persons with disabilities (PWDs) while using public transport along with their mode choice in Lahore, Pakistan. This study uses a questionnaire-based approach to collect the data. Exploratory factor analysis is conducted to extract the underlying factors describing the perceptions of the PWDs about the issues with public transportation. It also uses non-parametric tests such as Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests to determine the effects of demographic variables on the underlying factors. In addition, it estimates a binary logit model to determine the mode choice of PWDs in Lahore, Pakistan. The non-parametric tests on underlying factors indicated that females declared higher level of agreement with spatial and financial inequity and infrastructural inaccessibility as compared to males. Furthermore, those traveling with wheel chairs showed significantly higher level of agreement with service inadequacy as compared to those without any mobility aids. The binary logit model indicated that female PWDs are less likely to use public transport relative to other modes when compared to the male respondents. The respondents belonging to the higher income categories are less likely to use public transport relative to other modes when compared to the lowest-income category. The re-spondents who do not own a vehicle are more likely to use public transport relative to other modes when compared to those who own a vehicle. In the logit model, gender, household income, use of mobility aids, primary purpose of traveling, vehicle ownership, and infrastructural inaccessibility were found to be significant predictors of mode choice. Although transport-related policies exist for PWDs, more specific policies and stricter implementation is required to improve the accessibility and public transport ridership of PWDs.