Travel behaviour of seniors in Eastern Europe: a comparative study of Brno and Bratislava

Abstract Purpose Although seniors represent a sizable group of a population with distinctive travelling needs, we lack knowledge about their travel behaviour related to usage of public transport in the context of Eastern Europe. This study aims to describe patterns of travel behaviour of senior citizens in two cities with similar size and key mobility characteristics – Brno (Czech Republic) and Bratislava (Slovakia). Methods The data was collected via travel behaviour survey. The final sample from Bratislava consisted of 1961 seniors of the age of 70 and older who accounted for 3343 trips. The final sample in Brno contained 63 seniors of the age of 70 years and older who conducted 151 trips. Results On average, inhabitants of Bratislava older than 70 years conducted 1.7 trips per day, whereas it was 1.5 trips per day in Brno. The seniors from Bratislava averagely spent 40 min on their trips per day and single trip usually took 24 min to them. In comparison, senior citizens from Brno mostly needed 28 min per single trip, albeit their daily travel took almost the same time (41 min). When it comes to mode choice, while seniors from Bratislava prefer walking the most (44%), their counterparts from Brno predominantly chose public transport (57%). Conclusion In summary, seniors from Brno aged 70 years and over use public transport significantly more than their counterparts from Bratislava. As a result, public transport allows them to travel further, which in turn gives them more opportunities to satisfy their needs