Abstract
In this project, we work with the largest community transportation organization which provide paratransit services for people with disabilities and the elderly. In Hong Kong, the number of people with disabilities has increased by approximately 60%, from 361,300 in 2007 to 578,600 in 2013. Disclosed in the Legislative Council, such growing demand led to about 1,000 rejected applications per month on average from 2009 to 2013 according to the data from Dial-a-Ride applications. This rejection rate is caused by increasing demand for paratransit services due to the ageing population. According to the government statistics (Erik Tollefson, 2015), the proportion of population aged 65 and above is slated to double (31 percent) by 2036. The population is expected to remain on an ageing trend (Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2015). The median age would rise from 42.8 in 2014 to 51.0 in 2064. On the other hand, the proportion of the population aged under 15 is projected to decrease from 11% in 2014 to 9% in 2064. Hong Kong, as a part of the world, obviously is facing elderly problem in future. To deal with unfulfilled demands, the government supports more vehicles to the organization. However, this causes the operational challenges of managing over 150 vehicles.
This project aims to propose integrative technologies for enabling universal accessible transportation service in Hong Kong. The integrative technologies include: 1) Data Visualization; 2) Vehicle Scheduling System; 3) Mobile apps.
In this project, we work with the largest community transportation organization which provide paratransit services for people with disabilities and the elderly. In Hong Kong, the number of people with disabilities has increased by approximately 60%, from 361,300 in 2007 to 578,600 in 2013. Disclosed in the Legislative Council, such growing demand led to about 1,000 rejected applications per month on average from 2009 to 2013 according to the data from Dial-a-Ride applications. This rejection rate is caused by increasing demand for paratransit services due to the ageing population. According to the government statistics (Erik Tollefson, 2015), the proportion of population aged 65 and above is slated to double (31 percent) by 2036. The population is expected to remain on an ageing trend (Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2015). The median age would rise from 42.8 in 2014 to 51.0 in 2064. On the other hand, the proportion of the population aged under 15 is projected to decrease from 11% in 2014 to 9% in 2064. Hong Kong, as a part of the world, obviously is facing elderly problem in future. To deal with unfulfilled demands, the government supports more vehicles to the organization. However, this causes the operational challenges of managing over 150 vehicles.
This project aims to propose integrative technologies for enabling universal accessible transportation service in Hong Kong. The integrative technologies include: 1) Data Visualization; 2) Vehicle Scheduling System; 3) Mobile apps.
