Disability, victimisation, and safety in train travel

Abstract

Individuals with disabilities constitute a vulnerable heterogeneous group of travellers in public transport. The present study aims to investigate victimisation and perceived safety patterns among train travellers with disabilities (asthma/allergy, motion sickness, depression/anxiety, and reduced mobility). Exploratory data analysis and logistic regression were used to analyse the data coming from a sample of railway travellers across 28 municipalities in Sweden (N = 3374). Individuals with disabilities are more likely to be victimised in transit than those with no disability and declared feeling more unsafe than the rest of the travellers, especially if they had been previously victimised. Like other passengers, individuals with disabilities complain about aggressive panhandling, sexual harassment, the presence of intoxicated people, and a lack of staff. Including disability groups and their special needs in planning is essential to make public transportation safer and more inclusive.

Keywords

• Asthma or allergy
• Motion sickness
• Depression or anxiety
• Reduced mobility
• Railway
• Crime