RESEARCH ARTICLE
A Sustainable Transport System and Travel Choice Adaptation of the Disadvantaged in Hong Kong
Joseph Cho Yam Lau*
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2008Volume: 2
First Page: 80
Last Page: 87
Publisher ID: TOTJ-2-80
DOI: 10.2174/1874447800802010080
Article History:
Received Date: 26/7/2008Revision Received Date: 27/8/2008
Acceptance Date: 10/9/2008
Electronic publication date: 7/11/2008
Collection year: 2008
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
This paper investigates the interactions between the coping travel behaviour of the disadvantaged and policies for a sustainable transport system in Hong Kong. The concepts of quality of life, a sustainable transport system and coping behaviour are reviewed. The construction of an effective sustainable transport system depends on transport policy makers understanding individual travel behaviour and providing a wide range of adaptation choices to help individuals to overcome mobility constraints. In-depth interviews were conducted in 1996 to ascertain the travel behaviour of the disadvantaged, the results of which indicate that to cope with socio-economic and land-use constraints, the respondents choose opportunities that are in close proximity to living neighbourhoods, taking cheaper slower transport modes and using nonmortorised modes to non-work activities, working women chose employment opportunities that close home to care for children. Some respondents remained in long-term unemployment rather than seeking distant employment to save travel costs. The results should help the government to formulate sustainable transport policies for Hong Kong.