IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/retrec/v98y2023ics0739885923000203.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Universal design for people with psychosocial disabilities – The effect of COVID-19

Author

Listed:
  • Nielsen, Anja Fleten

Abstract

We have examined how COVID-19 impacted travel behaviour for people with psychosocial disabilities, identified key barriers when using public transport, and examined how a broad understanding of universal design can be used to improve travel for people with psychosocial disabilities. During and after the pandemic, most informants travelled less and/or used their car more than before. Some stopped using public transport due to fear of contamination, while others found it easier to travel during the pandemic due to less crowding. Use of facial masks were perceived by some as an additional problem increasing anxiety, while others found it more problematic with fellow passengers not wearing masks. In general, findings support prior studies in terms of barriers related to crowding, lack of seamlessness, financial issues, problems with staff, lack of access in rural areas, and low knowledge of support systems. Additionally, lack of toilet facilities, negative experiences with other passengers, sensory overload, travel-induced fatigue, and problems related to planning are considered problematic. Station areas may pose a barrier for people with former drug addictions. Hence, universal design should include the social and organisation environments, in addition to physical design, in terms of making the transport system accessible to everyone.

Suggested Citation

  • Nielsen, Anja Fleten, 2023. "Universal design for people with psychosocial disabilities – The effect of COVID-19," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:98:y:2023:i:c:s0739885923000203
    DOI: 10.1016/j.retrec.2023.101280
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0739885923000203
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.retrec.2023.101280?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mackett, Roger L., 2021. "Policy interventions to facilitate travel by people with mental health conditions," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 306-313.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuko Arai & Yukari Niwa & Takahiko Kusakabe & Kentaro Honma, 2023. "How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected wheelchair users? Time-series analysis of the number of railway passengers in Tokyo," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gupta, Monik & Velaga, Nagendra R. & Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar, 2024. "Understanding risky driving among motorized two-wheeler drivers: The role of time-related anxiety and impunctuality," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 199-210.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Universal design; Accessibility; Mental health; Psychosocial disability; Transport; COVID-19; Transport barriers; Health; Welfare; Public transport; Disabilities; Disability; Impairments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • R0 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:98:y:2023:i:c:s0739885923000203. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620614/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.