Access to Over-the-Road Buses for Persons With Disabilities Page: 18
This report is part of the collection entitled: Office of Technology Assessment and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
18 Over-the-Road Bus Access
accessible, although ridership by persons with
mobility disabilities remains a small percentage
of the total (see ch, 3).
Estimating Potential OTRB Ridership
Given the limited experience with demonstra-
tion projects, OTA has attempted to extrapolate
potential OTRB ridership for persons with disa-
bilities from trip frequencies for the total popula-
tion. First, "trip rates" are calculated for both
freed-route and charter and tour services. A trip
rate is the average number of freed-route or
charter and tour trips taken by a person in the
United States.
OTA estimated the fixed-route intercity per
capita trip rate by taking the best estimate of U.S.
fixed-route intercity ridership and dividing it by
the total U.S. population. In 1990, the Interstate
Commerce Commission estimated fixed-route
ridership on the largest intercity carriers at
approximately 28 million passengers. Increasing
this number by 10 percent to account for ridership
on the smaller carriers results in a figure of 31
million. 28This figure was divided by the total
1990 U.S. population of 249 million to obtain a
national fried-route trip rate of 0.125 trips per
person annually .29 Similarly, three separate esti-
mation methodologies resulted in a figure of
roughly 290 million trips in 1990 for charter and
tour service, and an average per capita trip rate of
1.17 trips.30
These trip rates are averages over the total U.S.
population. Considerable debate exists about
estimating OTRB trip rates for the subset of
persons with disabilities, assuming all OTRB
services were accessible. On the one hand, some
analysts suggest that trip rates for persons withA travel group arranged this camping trip for persons
with disabilities.
disabilities would be lower than those for the
general population due to the subpopulation of
persons with disabilities who have overall lower
mobility, or due to the generally lower economic
status of the population of persons with disabili-
ties (i.e., they could not afford the trip). On the
other hand, some researchers suggest that trip
rates could be higher due to both the lower
economic status of persons with disabilities
(because OTRB public transportation operators
are a low-cost provider) and low levels of
automobile ownership. In fact, the profile of
OTRB ridership resembles in many key ways28 These figures represent only intercity fried-route ridership. Ridership on other freed-route OTRB services, such as scheduled airport,
sightseeing, and other services, was not estimated.
29 One important note Concern the possibility of developing different per capita trip rates for different age groups and for urban v. rural
populations. While such a breakdown of the national trip rate might be desirable, it is not feasible with available data.
30 The three estimation methodologies used, respectively are: 1) the statistical summary, Transportation in America; 2) American Bus
Association (ABA) Annual Reports; and 3) two surveys commissioned by ABA. Econometrics, Inc., ' 'Potential Demand for Over-the-Road
Bus Service by Persons With Disabilities, " OTA contractor report, July 15, 1992.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This report can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Report.
United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment. Access to Over-the-Road Buses for Persons With Disabilities, report, May 1993; [Washington D.C.]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc40036/m1/25/: accessed May 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.