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Mobility behavior of the elderly: an attitude-based segmentation approach for a heterogeneous target group

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Abstract

The western population is ageing. Based on the assumption that the elderly are a quite heterogeneous population group with an increasing impact on the transport system, mobility types of the elderly were identified. By means of 1,500 standardized telephone interviews, mobility behavior and possible determinantes including infrastructural, sociodemographic and attitudinal variables, were assessed. The most important factors, identified by five regression analyses, served as type-constituent variables in a series of cluster analyses. The final cluster solution resulted in four segments of the elderly named Captive Car Users, Affluent Mobiles, Self-Determined Mobiles, and Captive Public Transport Users. The groups showed distinct mobility patterns as well as significant differences in infrastructural, sociodemographic and attitudinal variables. The study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the diverse lifestyles, attitudes, travel behavior and needs of the elderly. Furthermore, it identifies starting points for the reduction of car use.

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Notes

  1. Dog ownership was recorded as people who own a dog go more often for a walk (Brown and Rhodes 2006). In addition, the dog might be an obstacle when travelling with German rail as you have to pay the same fare as for children between 6 and 14 for a larger dog (cf. www.bahn.de).

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive advice, her colleagues at ILS for fruitful discussions and Michael Carreno for very helpful comments on the manuscript.

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  1. ILS—Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development, Brüderweg 22–24, 44135, Dortmund, Germany

    Sonja Haustein

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  1. Sonja Haustein
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Correspondence to Sonja Haustein.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Table 4 Psychological scales
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Table 5 Results of principal component analysis
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Table 6 Recorded activities
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Table 7 ANOVA results for different cluster solutions and mobility behaviors
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Haustein, S. Mobility behavior of the elderly: an attitude-based segmentation approach for a heterogeneous target group. Transportation 39, 1079–1103 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-011-9380-7

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