Public transport as a component of older people’s mobility

Dissertation will be focus on the mobility of older people. [reviewer21] Proportion of older
people, in many countries of Developed World, is increasing, and prognoses of future development do
not expect changes in the next few decades. The growth in the proportion of people in
post-productive age can also be seen in transport, where the poorer quality of public transport
services might reflect in the mobility of older people. When people lose contact with the services,
work and other facilities, which they need to get involved in society at least in part, so-called
social exclusion arises.

Population aging is becoming [reviewer22] an increasingly popular issue not only in geography and
demography. In the Czech Republic, the post-productive component of its peak should reach 2058,
when it should account for more than 30% of the total population. Older people are also the largest
population group that no longer owns a car and at the same time a group that is most at risk of
social exclusion because they may face lower incomes or health restrictions. In addition, we can
expect in the future that a generation that has become accustomed to higher mobility during the
20th century will want to be as mobile even at an advanced age. All these pieces of knowledge point
to the fact that in the future there will be increased demands on public transport in connection
with improving the mobility of people of post-productive age. Even older people need society and
social contacts, and their limited mobility may result in increased stress, which can lead to death
in the worst cases.

To investigate the space-time behaviour of this population group we can focus on cities from two
different size categories. First of them is Nové Město na Moravě, because public transport in
smaller towns will be targeted primarily for the needs of older people whose mobility is limited.
In this case, it is also possible to see how the mobility of older people has changed after the
introduction of public transport (2014). The second one is Brno, which has a long-term urban
transport network, and it is possible to study the spatio-temporal patterns of post-productive
people through public transport. The analytical part [reviewer23] of the dissertation will be
determined by the selected research topic. The methods can for example be observation of the
strategic bus-stops (near hospitals, shops, etc.) at various hours during the day, interviews with
older people or questionnaire surveys.

The aim [reviewer24] of the work will be to offer a better view of the issue of mobility of older
people and to bring further knowledge about the patterns of travel behavio[INS: u :INS] r of this
population group.

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 [reviewer21]This is probalby not an introductory sentence.  Better start with a general intro and
then open the discussion about your research aims at the beginning of the third paragraph.

 [reviewer22]This paragraph justifies your research and you should refer to some relevant sources
and state what is known and how you want to extend the research.

 [reviewer23]What questions will be answered in this part of your dissertation? What are your
general research questions?

 [reviewer24]This is probably too late to introduce the aim at the end of your manuscript. Speaking
about the pilot areas before makes no sense. This paragraph should be probably moved.