“I don’t actually see many of my peers on the bus” : A qualitative study of older adults’ perceived accessibility to public transport in Lund

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines how older adults’ perceived accessibility to public transport in Lund is shaped by the interaction between individual experiences and structural conditions within the transport system. Although older adults are entitled to free public transport in Lund and many other parts of Skåne, they remain underrepresented among regular public transport users, indicating the presence of non-physical barriers that influence mobility and travel behaviour. The study employs a qualitative research design combining document analysis, expert interviews, interviews with older adults, and onboard observations. A multidimensional theoretical framework—drawing on the Capability Approach, psychosocial theories, and digitalisation theory—guides the analysis and conceptualises perceived accessibility as the combined result of individual and structural factors. The findings show that the onboard experience is central to perceived accessibility. Participants frequently describe feelings of insecurity when buses begin moving before they are seated, a pattern that was also confirmed through observations. Variations in driving style, limited communication, and a lack of social interaction with drivers reduce feelings of safety, predictability, and comfort. These psychosocial dimensions emerge as equally important as physical adaptations in shaping older adults’ willingness and ability to travel. Digitalisation appears more complex than commonly assumed. All interviewed older adults use Skånetrafiken’s digital tools and describe them as helpful for travel planning, challenging stereotypes portraying older adults as excluded from digital development. A key structural issue concerns weak communication between transport actors and older travellers. Public transport planners primarily rely on customer service channels for communication, which creates a gap between policy intentions and lived experiences and limits the system’s ability to respond to older adults’ needs. The study concludes that improving accessibility requires greater attention to the communicative and psychosocial aspects of public transport, as well as the development of new communication channels in which public transport actors adopt a more active role in engaging with travellers, particularly older adults.