Document Type
Report
Publication Date
7-11-2018
Abstract
This study investigates the transportation disadvantage that low-income, older adults face on an individual basis. To accomplish this, research team members custom designed an innovative “travel diary” app, MyAmble, which tracks planned, completed, failed/uncompleted trips, and unserved trips in its Trip Planner module. In addition to the typical transportation planning data (e.g. origin, destination, mode), MyAmble collects data related to the completed or failed/uncompleted trip’s impact on the participant’s mood and quality of life. MyAmble utilizes 3 additional modules (Challenge Logger, Travel Buddy, and Travel History) to collect qualitative data related to the role that transportation plays in the participant’s life and history.
The field test shows significant promise in terms of capturing data on quantity and impact of missed trips, particularly as they relate to psycho-social-emotional well-being and autonomy; however, the selected population of low-income, community-dwelling older adults face health challenges that may have limited some participants’ ability to utilize the app. The study generates critical feedback for continued improvements to MyAmble. Participants expressed positive feedback and strong support for the app, specifically the Travel Buddy feature. The data generated by MyAmble provide new insights into the challenges facing environmental justice communities.
ID Number
TRCLC 16-09
WMU ScholarWorks Citation
Fields, Noelle; Cronley, Courtney; Mattingly, Stephen; Levine, David; Miller, Vivian J.; Murphy, Erin R.; Crawford, Marcus; Gwak, Lubia; Ramezanpour Nargesi, Saeed Reza; Rahman, Ziaur; and Balasubramanian, Meenakshi, "16-09 Transportation Mobility Among Low-Income, Transportation Disadvantaged Older Adults Living in a Low Density Urban Environment Using Innovative Data Collection Methods" (2018). Transportation Research Center Reports. 7.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/transportation-reports/7