Fair transport policies for older people: accessibility and affordability of public transport in Santiago, Chile

In this paper, we test how different public transport policy scenarios score in terms of fairness for a specific population group, considering a more complex representation of mobility-related inequalities and the policy implications of transport justice. To do so, we assess potential accessibility to public transport in Santiago de Chile under different policy scenarios, focusing on older people as a group whose demographic and socioeconomic conditions can determine different forms of disadvantage. We compare alternative accessibility policies based on the expansion of the Metro infrastructure network or on reduced public transport fares, considering the interaction between the spatial availability and the affordability of public transport. Results show that subsidized fares for public transport services are more beneficial to expand the accessibility of older people, especially those with lower incomes, while the expansion of the Metro network benefits mainly middle- and high-income older people. The proposed analysis is a first step towards a more detailed, place-based reading of mobility-related inequalities, aimed at assessing alternative policy measures.