ABSTRACT
The idea that people with mobility handicaps have a travel choice is a problematic issue. Experience and research suggests that the choice is often absent or enforced by the characteristics of the service operating agency, such as a local authority social services or education department or a health authority; even community transport agencies who seek to provide a non-discriminatory transport service, as is the case with dial-a-ride, have difficulty fulfilling this ideal (Bailey and Layzell, 1983; Sutton, 1988). Considerable efforts in research and practice have therefore been devoted to tackling this supply-side problem (Rosenbloom, 1982; ECMT, 1986; Sutton, 1987; Gillingwater, 1988); indeed, a series of international conferences on the theme of mobility and transport for elderly and disabled persons has been held since 1978, attracting growing support from national governments and supranational organisations like the European Union (the latest – the sixth – was held in Lyon in May, 1992).
