Listening to Passengers: Data-Driven Investigations of Public Perceptions at Transportation Hubs to Improve Equity and Accessibility of Underrepresented Populations

In the built environment, accessibility of people with disabilities has improved by adopting ADA standards. For the project life cycle aspect, current efforts focused on the design and construction stages but lack of the consideration for the operation of transportation infrastructure. After the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens have been asked (or required) to change their behavior at public transportation hubs (e.g., airports). Consequently, new challenges for passengers with disabilities have arisen, demanding operational changes to ensure maintenance of equal access for all visitors. In the research, such challenges are identified by using a novel data mining technique on a large public perception data (64 hub airports). Then, this technique is applied research findings to current guidelines as well as operation strategies at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Specifically, this research presents a four-phase research method. First, location-based social media data is collected from the Google Maps platform, which is distinct from other social media, where users share their experiences about specific locations. Then, a topic modeling technique is applied to systemically identify public opinions of airport operations with the guidance of the Open Doors Organization, which is a non-profit focused on helping traveler with disabilities. The last two tasks involve both professional aviation architects from Corgan and the customer satisfaction team at DFW to transfer the research findings toward practical implementation. This innovative data-driven approach may help both designers and facility managers to make transportation hubs more equitable and accessible for passengers with disabilities.

• Record URL:
  https://ctedd.uta.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CTEDD-022-02-Final-Report.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/74278
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  Department of Transportation
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions & Dollars (CTEDD)

  University of Texas at Arlington
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019

  University of Texas at Arlington

  Arlington, Texas  United States 
• Authors:
  • Park, June Young
  • Mistur, Evan
• Publication Date: 2023-12-31

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 25p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airport access; Airport terminals; Airports; Barrier free design; COVID-19; Persons with disabilities; Social media; Transportation equity
• Identifier Terms: Air Carrier Access Act; Americans with Disabilities Act; Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport; Google Maps
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Law; Safety and Human Factors; Society; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01917221
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: CTEDD 022-02
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747134
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Apr 30 2024 1:31PM