Passengers' valuations of universal design measures in public transport

The concept of Universal Design (UD) in local public transport planning refers to the requirements on facilities and vehicles in order to accommodate and increase the accessibility of as many passengers as possible. It is however often ignored that UD can provide benefits to not only special need groups but also to all passengers.UD measures can often be provided at relatively low costs. By enhancing public transport quality they can be justifiable based on a cost-benefit criterion.This article documents valuation of different UD measures, estimated based on a Stated Preference (SP) survey among public transport passengers in Norway. Our study suggests high valuations of UD measures among passengers. This potentially creates the case for setting priority on these measures when allocating funds for improving the quality of public transport based on a benefit-cost criterion.