1180 | 461 | Transport operators servicing rural areas: factors influencing accessibility values for education and health mobility in Castilla La Mancha (Spain) | David Alejandro Ramírez Cajigas, Amparo Moyano, José María Coronado
Nowadays, some initiatives have been developed trying to offer solutions to mobility in rural territories. One of the most important is “SMARTA”, a European project that focuses on shared and on-demand mobility, trying to interconnect it with public transport, where it exists, and including five pilot experiences in different European countries. There are also other national experiences, such as in Germany, where there are on-demand transport systems already implemented in various rural areas (König & Grippenkoven, 2020), or in the Netherlands, where a pilot project has been developed to replace regular bus services with DRTs (‘Demand-Responsive Transport’) (Coutinho et al., 2020). In Spain, the two first pilot projects of “Demand-Sensitive Transport” are recently approved in Castilla La Mancha region. These experiences, still in their early stages, show the need to address mobility problems and limited access to basic services in rural areas, proposing specific strategies for rural areas. _x000D_
Precisely, this research proposes an analysis of the factors influencing the accessibility levels by public and private transport in different territorial schemes and for different purposes, to identify causes for spatial inequalities. Methodologically, the current accessibility and connectivity levels that public and private transport systems provide to these territories will be evaluated, focusing on both education and health associated mobility, with the aim of detecting deficiencies of the services and, above all, identifying the variables and restrictions of transport systems in these rural environments. The results could give essential insights to address strategies to solve rural/suburban mobility issues and spatial inequalities identified._x000D_
David Alejandro Ramírez Cajigas, Amparo Moyano, José María Coronado
Department of Civil and Building Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha
ID Abstract: 461