ZHAO Shukun*

 

Abstract: Population aging brings a severe challenge to all social systems. In recent years, laws and policies at the central and local levels have provided many norms and guidelines to ensure accessible travel for elderly people. However, there are still some challenges in practice, such as vague standards for a barrier-free environment, uneven satisfaction with barrier-free public transport, the unbalanced supply of public services, and the gap in information intelligence.The three dimensions of concept, system, and multiple social subjects should be highlighted in order to strengthen the protection of convenient travel for the elderly. We should consolidate “inclusiveness,” “positivity,” and “mainstreaming” as the internal nutrients of the system, keep polishing the system and improving the system effect, and give full play to market forces and stimulate the functions of industrial and commercial enterprises.

 

Keywords: the elderly · convenient travel · concept · system · market

 

We are going through an unprecedented revolution, with a high proportion of the population aging in developed countries and a rapid increase in the number of elderly in developing countries.¹ According to common international classification standards, when the proportion of the population aged 65 and over in a country or region exceeds 7 percent, it has entered an aging society; when it reaches 14 percent, it has entered a deeply aging society; when it exceeds 20 percent, it has entered a super-aging society. In 2020, after sorting out the age structure of the people in 336 prefecture-level cities and above (including municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities specifically designated in the state plan, provincial capitals, ordinary prefecture-level cities, prefectures, and leagues other than Sansha city), it is found that the proportion of the population aged 65 and above in 149 prefecture-level cities and above exceeds 14 percent, entering a deeply aging society.²

 

Population aging brings a severe challenge to the whole social governance system. Ensuring the accessibility travel of the elderly is not only the basic premise for the elderly to “enjoy themselves” but also the basic guarantee for them to “have their pursuits.”

 

As a governance strategy of China, the rule of law establishes the core position of the institutional guarantee for rights. However, any system or norm can only play its due role when it is deeply rooted in the social soil with a rich conceptual foundation and sufficient social support. In recent years, the legal and policy guarantees for convenient travel for the elderly have developed rapidly and great achievements have been made at the system supply level, yet the effects and problems of system operation should not be underestimated. It is a topic that cannot be avoided in system improvement and optimization to reveal and explain the gap between the static system and the dynamic system performance. Focusing on convenient travel for the elderly, the paper reviews the institutional design (laws and policies) for ensuring convenient travel for the elderly in recent years and proposes a three-dimensional construction concept for the system to guarantee convenient travel for the elderly after considering the practical problems reflected in the questionnaires.

 

 

Institutional norms for convenient travel for the elderly can be examined from the perspectives of laws and policies at both the central and local levels. The regulations at the central level include laws adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress like the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, administrative regulations adopted by the State Council such as the Regulation on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments, and such normative policy documents as National Human Rights Action Plan (2021-2025), Circular of the State Council on Issuing the Program for Developing China’s Old-Age Services and System Building During the 13th Five-Year Plan Period, and so on. Meanwhile, many local regulations, rules, and normative documents have also been promulgated to implement the spirit of laws and policies at the central level. It can be found through incomplete statistics for a considerable number of laws and policies at different levels that the development of laws and policies in recent years has provided multiple and multi-level institutional guidelines and guarantees for convenient travel for the elderly.

 

 

Firstly, a standard system for environmental accessibility has been established. It is stipulated in the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly that the state formulates the construction standards for barrier-free facilities and new, renovated, and expanded public infrastructure should meet the barrier-free environment construction standards. The accessibility technical standards for public transport have been put forward in the Regulation on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments. To be specific, “relevant competent departments shall formulate the barrier-free technical standards for public transport and determine the time limit for reaching the standards.” In other words, it is impossible to measure the accessibility of public transport such as buses, subways, trains, planes, and so on and the associated public infrastructure closely related to convenient travel for the elderly in practice, without standards, let alone guarantee protection of the rights of the elderly to travel. From the Circular on the Release of Professional Standards “Design Specifications for Urban Roads and Buildings Convenient for Persons of Disabilities” issued jointly by the former Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the China Disabled Persons’ Federation in 1988 to the Code for Barrier-Free Design (GB50763-2012) issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in 2012 as a national standard for engineering construction, the standard system for the construction of a barrier-free environment has been basically established.

 

Second, many specific measures have been put forward to build a barrier-free environment for the elderly to travel. On December 30, 2013, the National Aging Office issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Work of Preferential Treatment for the Elderly, in which it was proposed that “we should focus on the construction of barrier-free facilities in public places such as residential areas and urban roads and promote the renovation of public facilities such as ramps and elevators to equip them with travel aids for the elderly. Public restrooms should be equipped with accessible facilities for the elderly.” On February 18, 2017, the Program for Developing China’s Old-Age Services and System Building During the 13th Five-Year Plan Period was issued. It required that “we should support the installation of elevators in multi-story old residential buildings and strengthen the barrier-free renovation of public facilities in residential areas with emphasis laid on the renovation of such parts of public buildings as ramps and stairs” within the communities and “we should strengthen the barrier-free design and renovation of public facilities that are closely related to the independent and safe passage on roads, entrance and exit of buildings, and use of transportation” out of the communities. On June 6, 2017, the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Formulating and Implementing Elderly Care Service Projects. Focusing on the construction of a barrier-free environment, it is proposed that “we should provide appropriate equipment for the travel of the elderly in the renovation of public facilities to improve the daily life of the elderly. Meanwhile, we should strengthen the renovation of facilities friendly to the elderly in communities and families and support the installation of barrier-free facilities such as elevators in residential buildings with a high proportion of the elderly.” On January 18, 2018, the Ministry of Transport issued the Implementation Opinions on Further Strengthening and Improving Travel Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities, proposing to “encourage new urban public transport vehicles to give priority to low-floor buses and establish a comprehensive, seamless, safe, and comfortable barrier-free travel system.” On September 9, 2021, the Information Office of the State Council released the National Human Rights Action Plan (2021-2025). Specific construction goals for convenient travel for the elderly were proposed in the plan. “We should optimize traffic management facilities like the timing of traffic signals and traffic signs and markings first. Then we should improve secondary crossing measures such as pedestrian stop areas and crossing safety islands.”

 

At the provincial level, specific measures requiring the construction of barrier-free facilities cover an extensive range. It is stipulated in the Five-Year Action Plan for the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment in Hunan Province (2021-2025) that “tactile paving with warning functions should be set reasonably and scientifically in the newly-built, renovated and expanded main commercial streets, pedestrian streets, and roads and ramps in areas frequently visited by the visually impaired.” According to the 2019-2021 Action Plan for Further Promoting the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment in Beijing, “we should ensure that curb ramps are set up on the sidewalks at intersections, entrances, and exits to achieve smooth and non-slip slopes and try to ensure that the edge of the curb ramps is in line with the main roads. Curb ramps should be set up at both ends of the pedestrian crossing with audible warning devices and improve the corresponding management measures.” Shenzhen Municipality, Hainan Province, Hunan Province, Anhui Province, Beijing Municipality, and Shanghai Municipality all directly require that “Public parking lots in public service places shall set up barrier-free parking spaces with clear signs.”³ According to Article 17 of the Administrative Measures for the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment in Anhui Province, “bus and taxi operators are encouraged to arrange a certain percentage of barrier-free vehicles to provide transportation services for the disabled, the elderly and other social members.”

 

Third, the responsibilities have been clarified for the construction of a barrier-free environment. Accessibility to travel for the elderly is an important aspect of the protection of the rights and interests of the elderly. The realization of rights is inseparable from the actions of the subjects of obligations and responsibilities. The laws at the central level have relatively vague or abstract provisions on the setting of responsible subjects, the way of fulfilling responsibilities, and accountability. Nevertheless, the situation has been somewhat improved in laws and regulations at the local level. For example, in terms of the maintenance and renovation of barrier-free facilities, it is stipulated in the Regulations on the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment in Liaoning Province that “when the accessibility facilities at airports, railway stations, bus stations, ferry terminals and other public transport service places, as well as on major roads in cities fail to meet relevant standards, the people’s government of the city and county shall give priority to organizing and promoting the renovation according to the principle of ‘who builds and who is responsible’”; in terms of preventing the occupation of barrier-free facilities, it is stipulated in Article 36 of the Administrative Measures for the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment in Anhui Province that “where motor vehicles and non-motor vehicles violate parking regulations and occupy barrier-free facilities such as tactile paving and ramps, the public security, city administration, and other relevant departments shall order the offending parties to rectify the situation according to their respective duties; those who obstruct passage shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Road Traffic Safety and other laws and regulations”; according to the Measures for the Construction and Management of a Barrier-Free Environment in Shanghai Municipality, no unit or individual may damage or occupy barrier-free facilities without authorization, or change the use of barrier-free facilities. If it is necessary to temporarily occupy a road due to urban construction or major social welfare activities, the occupation of barrier-free facilities shall be avoided; if it is necessary to occupy barrier-free facilities, guardrails or warning signs shall be set up while necessary alternative measures shall be taken. When the temporary occupation period expires, the occupying unit shall restore its original state in time. In general, local governments have made requirements on the obligations and responsibilities of barrier-free environment construction for precaution post-remediation through legislation.

 

 

 

On November 15, 2020, the General Office of the State Council issued the Circular on the Implementation Plan for Effectively Solving the Difficulties of Using Smart Technology for the Elderly. Specific action goals to optimize taxi and ride-hailing services for the elderly were proposed, the first being “to optimize the sign for operation status of relevant vehicles”; the second being “to strengthen the construction of a public information service platform for taxis”; the third being “to simplify the operation process of mobile ride-hailing with a clear software interface”; and the last being “to encourage online ride-hailing platform companies to explore and develop functions such as voice ordering via customer service hotlines, backstage ordering, offline payment, and so on.”

 

 

The development and application of intelligent technology have brought difficulties to some elderly people in electronic payment for transportation. It is clarified in the Circular on the Implementation Plan for Effectively Solving the Difficulties of Using Smart Technology for the Elderly that “all departments should retain cash, credit cards, and other ways of payment for rides. It is necessary to promote the interoperability and convenient use of the national transportation card and support the integration of transportation function to qualified social security card.” In the same year, the Ministry of Transport issued documents jointly with other national departments and ministries, proposing to “retain cash, paper bills, and vouchers; improve the travel service function of the transportation card; and facilitate the elderly to take urban public transport with their certificate.”

 

 

In 2018, the Ministry of Transport and several national departments and ministries jointly issued the Opinions on Strengthening and Improving Travel Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities. It is required that “public places such as railway stations, bus terminals, and ferry terminals should provide friendly services, reservation customization services, and point-to-point connection and transfer supporting services between different modes of transportation to the elderly and persons with disabilities. Operating enterprises are encouraged to formulate and improve the transportation service rules for the elderly and persons with disabilities.” In 2021, the General Office of the Ministry of Transport and many other departments jointly issued the Circular on Organizing the Activities for Green Travel Publicity Month and Public Transport Publicity Week in 2021. One of the key issues of the activities is was to pay attention to improving travel services for the elderly.

 

 

According to the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, “we advocate service industries closely related to the daily life of the elderly to provide priority and preferential services for the elderly. Urban public transport, roads, railways, waterways, and air passenger transport should provide preferential treatment and care services for the elderly.” Notable examples include discounted fares on transport for the elderly and discounts on accessible parking spaces. Some of these regulations are mandatory. For example, it is stipulated in Article 25 of the Regulations on the Construction of a Barrier-Free City in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone that “public parking subject to government pricing shall reduce or exempt parking fees for motor vehicles driven or taken by persons with disabilities in accordance with relevant regulations”; it is stipulated in Article 15 of the Regulations on the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment in Hainan Province and Article 20 of the Regulations on the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment in Liaoning Province that “barrier-free parking spaces should be provided for persons with disabilities for free;” and it is stipulated in Article 20 of the Measures for the Construction and Management of a Barrier-Free Environment in Shanghai Municipality that “the public parking funded by the government shall reduce or exempt the parking fees for vehicles specially designed for persons with disabilities in a fixed period. Specific measures should be formulated jointly by the municipal public transportation department, the public security department, the pricing authorities, and the municipal federation for persons with disabilities.” Some others are advocacy. For example, according to Article 25 of the Regulations on the Construction of a Barrier-Free City in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, “operators of other types of parking are encouraged to reduce or exempt parking fees for motor vehicles that are driven or taken by persons with disabilities;” and according to Article 20 of the Measures for the Construction and Management of a Barrier-Free Environment in Shanghai Municipality, “parking lots organized by social forces are encouraged to reduce or exempt the parking fees of motor vehicles for persons with disabilities.”

 

 

As early as November 2018, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and other departments jointly issued the Implementation Opinions on Further Strengthening and Improving Travel Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities, which proposed that “smart media and smart terminals should be used, according to specific standard requirements, for improving the construction of braille signs, intelligent voice navigation, and guidance systems for the blind in public transportation places such as stations and hubs.” In December 2020, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the National Health Commission, and other departments jointly issued the Circular on the Implementation Plan for Effectively Solving the Difficulties of Using Smart Technology for the Elderly, providing systematic requirements on “continuously improving the level of intelligent services, perfecting the service guarantee measures, and effectively solving the problem of digital divide facing the elderly.” Measures on convenient travel for the elderly have been put forward from such aspects as the use and management of health codes, the development and design of products suitable for the elderly, the service application of smart products, and so on. First, we should “improve the management of health codes, simplify operations to suit the use of the elderly, and promote the interconnection of ‘health codes’ with valid identity documents such as ID cards, social security cards, and senior citizens’ cards.”

 

Second, we should actively develop intelligent products related to the daily life of the elderly and improve the ability of product design and research and development suitable for the elderly. Third, we should promote the aging-appropriate transformation of smart products such as mobile phones used by the elderly to expand electronic screens, enlarge font design, expand volume settings, and increase battery storage capacity. Meanwhile, we should give full play to the positive role that can be played by internet technology in aging-appropriate transformation. We should use the internet and intelligent information technology to transform basic service items related to the daily life of the elderly, optimize interface interaction, voice broadcast, operation guidance, and other functions, and encourage enterprises to equip their products with corresponding “care mode” and “elderly mode.”

 

The fourth phase of the National Human Rights Action Plan (2021-2025) issued in 2021 even clarified that “we should improve the digitization and intelligence of smart services for the elderly and traditional barrier-free facilities and equipment while taking effective measures to bridge the digital divide.” As some scholars have pointed out, the principle of “smart advancement” requires the full use of digital technology to expand the space for free and comprehensive development of all people.⁴ Of course, digital technology will provide a better environment for convenient travel for the elderly.

 

 

Although the previous discussion is inadequate, it basically shows that the current laws and policies to ensure convenient travel for the elderly are extensive in content and diverse in measures. However, it has been said that “the greatest challenge for a country lies not in making laws, but in putting those laws into effect.” The effect of a good and comprehensive system should be tested through practice. To better understand the problems in the travel of the elderly, a questionnaire was designed according to the logic of “the chain for accessible travel.” The “chain for accessible travel” is divided into three parts. The first part is “acquiring information,” which means that the traveler should be able to easily acquire information about travel services and travel facilities in advance. The second part is the process from “starting point” to “arriving at the station” and from “leaving the station” to the “destination” with emphasis laid on the state of individuals on the road independently or with the aid of auxiliary equipment. The third part is from “waiting for the vehicle” to “getting off the vehicle”, which refers to the process of using public transport facilities and means of public transport. Among them, the process from “arriving at the station” to “leaving the station” in the second part is connected by the use of public transport facilities in the third part. Through the “chain for accessible travel,” a link can be established connecting the supply and demand of barrier-free facilities for transportation. The questionnaire uses different measurement indicators for these the parts of the chain. For example, it covers whether the traveler knows the schedule, the ways for purchasing tickets, the itinerary, the travel services, and so on, in advance. 

 

For the second part of the chain, the questionnaire covers such issues as whether drivers are disrespectful to pedestrians, whether the sidewalk has obstacles, whether there are rest facilities on the sidewalk, whether the signal time at pedestrian crossings is too short, whether information signs are clear, whether the sidewalk is smooth and the situation of wheelchair ramps. For the third part of the chain, the questionnaire covers whether it is convenient to purchase tickets, whether there are waiting seats exclusively for the use of the elderly when using public transportation facilities, and whether they are occupied, whether there are barrier-free elevators, whether there are barrier-free toilets, whether there are barrier-free pedals and other assistive devices, whether there is sufficient time for getting on and off, whether the sound volume in the station or the car is appropriate, whether there is a storage area for assistive devices in the vehicle, and what is the service attitude of the staff, and so on. Through the questionnaire survey,⁵ a statistical analysis of the problems that the elderly face in travel can be carried out showing the obstacles the elderly face to varying degrees when traveling. 

 

 

The questionnaire examined the satisfaction of the elderly with obtaining information directly related to their journey before traveling. Regarding the question of “The schedule, ways for purchasing tickets, itinerary, and other information can be acquired before traveling?” the survey results are shown in Figure 1. Only 13.04 percent of the interviewed chose “completely agree.”

 

Regarding the question of “Can you obtain complete information about accessible travel services?”, the survey results show that merely 6.051 percent of the respondents chose “completely agree” while 38.19 percent of respondents gave negative answers.

 

Regarding the question “The above information can be acquired by not only visual means but also auditory means?”, the survey results show that only 7.37 percent of the respondents gave positive answers.

 

It should be noted in the answers to the above three questions that the proportion of those choosing “not sure” was 37.24 percent, 44.80 percent, and 43.67 percent respectively. During the survey, it was found that there are generally two reasons for choosing “not sure”. One is that the travel information can only be checked and acquired occasionally. For example, some elderly people interviewed said, “I have a smartphone and used Baidu, yet the information could not be found by searching on Baidu.” The other is that they are not sure whether there is relevant service information. For example, regarding wheelchair rental, one-click ride-hailing, escort services, and so on, some of the elderly people interviewed said, “I had heard that the wheelchair could be borrowed at train stations and airports, yet I had never tried.” All these show the inconvenience for the elderly in accessing accessibility information before traveling.

 

 

Public transport stations and means of transport are the most important physical environments for the elderly to travel. The accessibility of these environments directly affects the willingness of the elderly to travel and the degree to which travel is convenient. Judging from the survey results, the situation is not satisfactory.

 

First of all, such issues as whether there are special seats for the elderly, barrier-free toilets, and vertical lifts at the bus station when the elderly are waiting for a bus or transferring at a public transport station, whether the guidance signs, large-screen information, and voice announcements are clear, and so on, was investigated. The survey results are shown in Figure 2.

 

51.04 percent of the respondents chose “It is not easy to obtain information such as the arrival time of the bus, the stops, and so on”; 48.77 percent chose “There are no waiting seats exclusively for the use of the elderly or the exclusive seats for the elderly are occupied”; 44.61 percent chose “There is no green passage for the elderly when transferring in subway stations”; 30.06 percent chose “The guide signs in the subway station are not clear or difficult to understand”; 25.52 percent chose “without elevators or the elevators are out of service, it is difficult to enter or exit the stations”; and 24.76 percent chose “the announcement on the big screen or the voice announcement are not clear.”

 

Second, accidents frequently occur when the elderly get on and off public transport. Therefore, the questionnaire examined “The specific level of dissatisfaction among the elderly during the process of getting on and off public transport.” The dissatisfaction of the elderly interviewed was as follows from high to low: “without barrier-free pedal-assist to get on and off the vehicle”(43.67 percent); “the stop time of the bus is too short”(39.32 percent); “the gap between the carriage and the platform is too wide”(31.57 percent); and “the subway gate closes too quickly” (26.65 percent). 

 

Third, three questions related to satisfaction inside the vehicle of public transportation were investigated. The first is “Are the voice broadcasts in the vehicle too low to be heard clearly?” Such issues as the hearing loss of the elderly, the noise from the running of the vehicle, the voices of other passengers talking in the vehicle, and so on, that could make it difficult for the elderly to hear the voice broadcasts were considered. The survey results show that the total proportion of those choosing “completely agree” and “basically agree” was 40.26 percent.

 

Finally, considering the need for areas for placement of mobility aids in public transport of the elderly needing mobility aids for travel, whether “there are spaces for placing a wheelchair in the vehicle” was investigated. 27.03 percent chose “completely agree”, 28.17 percent chose “basically agree”, only 6.99 chose “completely disagree”.

 

 

The following four aspects of public services in close relation to convenient travel for the elderly were investigated.

 

 

At present, provisions on the preferential policies for the purchase of tickets by the elderly can be found in local regulations on public transport in most places. For example, in Jincheng City, it is stipulated that “public transport operators should reduce or exempt fares for special groups; the municipal or county people’s governments shall provide subsidies or compensation for the resulting losses by the policy”;⁶ and in Huanggang City, it is stipulated that “urban public transport enterprises shall reduce or exempt fares for special groups; the municipal or county people’s governments shall pay full compensation for the losses caused by the reduction or exemption of tickets for urban public transport enterprises.”⁷ To learn the implementation of the preferential ticket purchase regulations, the statement “Tthe cost of tickets is high and there is lack of preferential treatment for the elderly or the discount is insufficient” is was included in the questionnaire. The results show that 58.42 percent of the elderly respondents provide a negative answer by choosing “strongly disagree” or “somewhat disagree” while merely just 12.48 percent of the elderly respondents choose “agree.” This shows that the policy of preferential ticket purchases for the elderly has been well implemented. It is also found in interviews that many cities have issued discount cards for the elderly and the card holders can enjoy discounts on transportation fees.

 

 

Regarding the question of “Are the payment methods for public transportation convenient or not?”, 53.3 percent of the respondents chose “somewhat disagree” or “strongly disagree” and only 12.85 percent of them give affirmative answers. It was found that the convenience of payment methods for public transportation is still not enough in the eyes of the elderly.

 

In addition to public transportation, ride-hailing services are another important form of support to facilitate travel for the elderly. In response to the statement. “It is not easy for the elderly to hail a ride,” 47.82 percent of the respondents agreed; 23.63 percent of them expressed uncertainty; and 28.54 percent of them disagreed.

 

 

For the elderly, the distance between public transport stops and their houses is an important factor for them to choosing to travel. It even determines whether some of them travel or not. “How long does it usually take for the elderly to walk from their houses to the nearest public transportation place” was investigated. The survey results show that 43.10 percent of the respondents can walk to the nearest public transportation station within 5 to 10 minutes; 23.06 percent of them can arrive within 5 minutes, yet for 33.84 percent of them it takes more than 10 minutes.

 

Whether there is a friendly walking environment is also an influencing factor for the elderly in deciding to travel. To the statement “aged, uneven roads make walking inconvenient”, 48.2 percent of the respondents said they “completely agree” and 45.37 percent said they “basically agree.” Uneven and occupied sidewalks not only increase the difficulty of travel for the elderly but also endanger their safety.

 

Considering such reasons as physical function and reaction speed, the elderly have special needs for the duration of traffic signals when crossing the road. In response to the statement “the duration of green light is too short for crossing the road” show that 59.54 percent of the respondents chose “completely agree” and “basically agree.” This shows that the current traffic light duration setting does meet the specific requirements of the elderly.

 

 

The aging process makes the elderly increasingly dependent on assistive devices, so it is necessary to provide a barrier-free environment that meets the needs of the use of assistive devices.

 

Only 24.2 percent of the respondents gave positive responses to the question “Are the ramp facilities sufficient and is it convenient to travel with a wheelchair?” while 49.91 percent expressed negative opinions.

 

Merely 17.39 percent of the respondents answered in the affirmative to the question, “Are there taxi or ride-hailing services for wheelchair users in your city?”, 47.07 percent of the respondents were not sure, and 35.54 percent said “no.”

 

(4) Serious digital division in the convenient travel for the elderly

 

In recent years, ride-hailing, as an important supplementary form of public transportation, has begun to provide more possibilities for people to travel. However, due to the digital divide, the accessibility of online ride-hailing services is extremely insufficient for the elderly.

 

Figure 4 shows the results of the survey on the question “Have you ever booked and taken an online ride-hailing vehicle yourself?”

 

Only 16.82 percent of the respondents had independently booked and taken online ride-hailing vehicles and 40.08 percent of them have never taken an online car-hailing vehicle. The answers to the question “What do you think is the difficulty in online ride-hailing?” show that the most difficult part is “the taxi software is too complicated to operate” according to 34.7 percent of the respondents, followed by “not using electronic payment,” for 19 percent of the respondents. In other words, unfamiliarity with internet operation forces the elderly to give up the option of online ride-hailing.

 

 

Although there are many remarkable points in the institutional guarantee of convenient travel for the elderly in China, the results of the questionnaire survey show that the effect of the system operation is not satisfactory. “The reason why the institution is an element of soft rights is that the system implements ideas into society and turns ideas into culture. When ideas are accepted to a certain extent, they are used to establish the institution which will directly affect behavior.”⁸ Ideas and institutions cannot be separated from the social and material living conditions in which they liveexist. As Karl Marx said: “Society is not founded upon the law; this is a legal fiction. On the contrary, the law must be founded upon society. It must express the common interests and needs of society, as distinct from the caprice of the individuals.”⁹ The policy and institutional efforts to promote convenient travel for the elderly are deeply influenced by the conceptual basis behind the institution and the social support for the institution. Although actively responding to the aging population has been elevated to a national strategy, its conceptual foundation is still weak. With the deepening of the socialist market, and the rapid development of digital technology, the integration of the institution of convenient travel for the elderly with lasting momentum is the only way to maximize the effect of institutional regulation. Therefore, we can examine how to further promote convenient travel for the elderly from the three dimensions, namely concept shaping, institutional optimization, and market support.

 

 

In the traditional concept, “the elderly” is associated with “function decline,” “support”, and “dependency.” Logically, “aging” establishes a causal connection with “inability to survive,” “reducing or eliminating going out,” and “supported by others.” But the changes in individual physical conditions, physiological functions, and even some mental abilities caused by the biological process of aging are not linear and vary from person to person. How social concepts, cultural perceptions, and legal systems treat and respond to the aging life process directly affects the status of the rights of the elderly and their happiness. In other words, the biological process of aging is inevitable and irreversible, but the value goals and meanings constructed for aging can be completely open. If the elderly are labeled as a dependent, disabled, and must-be supported group, it is obvious that their travel will be regarded as causing trouble to others and bring an extra burden to society; but if they are regarded as a group with a rich accumulation of knowledge, experience and wealth while the support for them as the light of human nature, the implementation of the institution to support the elderly to facilitate their travel and social participation may be much smoother. In conclusion, it is necessary to overcome the “negative” social evaluation of the elderly, establish an inclusive social concept, and instill the concept of mainstreaming the rights of the elderly in the institutional renewal, to create conceptual conditions for a “successful” or “active” elderly life.

 

General Secretary Xi Jinping once emphasized that efforts should be made to strengthen the awareness of the whole society of the need to actively respond to the aging population. We must advocate a positive view of aging, the elderly, and their life. Old age is an important stage in human life when people can still make achievements, progress, and be happy. To effectively respond to the aging population can not only improve the quality of life of the elderly and safeguard their dignity and rights but also promote economic development and social harmony. Concepts are the forerunners of actions. In the context of increasingly serious aging, we should start by changing concepts to actively respond to the aging population.

 

First, we must adhere to the “positive concept of aging.” The elderly are generally considered to be a group of people who lack or lose their productive capacity and with deteriorating health, so they could only demand from society and are unable to produce. This negative concept of aging greatly exaggerates the negative image of the elderly and ignores the possibility of them actively participating in society. As early as the Second World Assembly on Aging in 2002, it is pointed out in the report on “active aging” submitted by the World Health Organization that people should always be able to develop their physical, social, and spiritual potential throughout their lives, be able to follow their rights and needs, hobbies, and ability to participate in activities, and be able to receive adequate protection and care. We should extensively carry out publicity and education on the national conditions of the aging population, cultivate and practice the “positive concept of aging” in the whole society, guide the whole society to eliminate any discrimination based on age, and fully understand that the elderly is a social productive force with great potential to distribute social resources more efficiently and fairly to the elderly.¹⁰

 

Second, we must establish an “inclusive development concept.” The so-called inclusive development means “unswervingly following the path of common prosperity” and “trying to divide the ‘cake’ well” to enhance the well-being of the people through shared development. Real development should put the people’s interests first. The development is for the people and by the people, and its benefits are shared by the people. The “inclusive development concept” emphasizes equal opportunities and fair enjoyment of rights and interests, laying an ideological foundation for the protection of the rights and interests of the elderly. It is necessary to strengthen the ideological concept of inclusiveness of the elderly in the whole society and guide the whole society to enhance the inclusive awareness of accepting, respecting, and helping the elderly to ensure that none of them can be missed on the road of development.

 

Finally, we must implement the principle of “mainstreaming the rights of the elderly.” At the end of the last century, the United Nations proposed the concept of “mainstreaming human rights,” which usually refers to the process of integrating human rights concepts into the activities of governments or intergovernmental organizations and is sometimes used to refer to a rights-based approach and perspective. Although there is no unified definition, “mainstreaming human rights” generally emphasizes the recognition, respect, and protection of human rights. Human rights are regarded as the purpose and value of activities with greater priority. In institutional norms, “mainstreaming human rights” requires that the enactment, revision, and repeal of laws and public policies should be based on international human rights standards. The so-called “mainstreaming human rights for the elderly” refers to reviewing all public policies and laws from the perspective and method of “the rights of the elderly” and implementing and promoting the realization of the rights of the elderly through specific measures in practice. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “we should implement the national strategy of actively responding to the aging population and integrate the concept of positive aging and healthy aging into the whole process of economic and social development.”¹¹ It could be another interpretation of the “mainstreaming human rights for the elderly.” It will also inevitably lead to further improvement of the regulatory effect of relevant laws and policies on convenient travel for the elderly.

 

 

At present, there are many laws and policies to facilitate the travel of the elderly in China, yet they are generally vague and far from refined on the whole in terms of the provisions on the standards for a barrier-free environment, the coordination within the normative system, the subjects of legal responsibility, and the responsibility performance guarantees. From the perspective of institutional improvement, efforts can continue to be made in the following areas.

 

First, we should further promote the clean-up of laws and regulations and the compilation of codes throughout the country. The normative basis for the construction of a barrier-free travel environment for the elderly involves different levels, covering laws, administrative regulations, ministerial rules, local regulations, rules, national standards, and so on. The norms between different levels and the norms at the same level conflict and overlap with each other. The clean-up and compilation of regulations at the central level can achieve the coordination of laws and administrative regulations to provide a clear upper-level legal basis for local legislation. The clean-up of normative documents at the local level can improve the systematization and logic of local normative documents and make local legislation more scientific and operable. Only when the institutional system becomes a coherent and unified whole with no fractures in the vertical direction and no blank spots in the horizontal direction can the goal that “there are laws to abide by” be realized.

 

Second, we should further strengthen the top-level system design for the construction of a barrier-free travel environment for the elderly and accelerate the legislation of the law on the promotion of barrier-free environment construction. It is reported that the Social Construction Committee of the National People’s Congress has launched research on the construction of a barrier-free environment and strengthened the research and demonstration for legislation. A scholar pointed out, “the legislation should not only clarify the normative standards and requirements for the construction of a barrier-free environment but also establish a collaborative mechanism for multi-sectoral efforts to build a barrier-free environment and a penalty mechanism for violation of the norm. Meanwhile, it would open channels for receiving user feedback to ensure the effective use of barrier-free facilities and thus enter a positive cycle of continuous improvement.”¹² Only in this way can we further meet the increasingly urgent needs of society members for the construction of a barrier-free environment.

 

Third, for local legislation, it is necessary to effectively respond to the principle of suitability for the elderly advocated in the 14th Five-Year Plan, deeply integrate the concept of inclusive and universal design, extensively absorb the good experience of other places, and formulate local regulations, measures, plans, and other normative documents to facilitate the barrier-free travel of the elderly according to the actual situation in the region. During the formulation of other special plans, it should be effectively linked with the normative documents on the construction of a barrier-free travel environment as well as with the upper laws. We should further standardize the general standards for the barrier-free traffic environment system, covering planning, construction, operation, service, certification, and other aspects. We should eliminate significant differences in accessibility standards systems from region to region and within regions.

 

Finally, we should strengthen the horizontal and vertical information communication between decision-making agencies, planning units, construction units, and travelers. When formulating specific measures involving the rights and interests of the elderly, all localities should fully solicit the opinions of social organizations of for the elderly and the elderly themselves to ensure that the real needs of the elderly group travelers are effectively reflected and considered and that local decision-making is issued completely and correctly. In this way, we will realize the seamless connection between their respective jurisdictional systems to ensure smoother construction and management of the accessibility travel environment and full process attention to the barrier-free travel environment for its planning and construction to the completion and maintenance, thus avoiding unfinished or contradictory efforts.

 

 

Diversified social forces are one of the important supports for modern national governance. Since the withdrawal of the work unit system from the historical stage, modern enterprises have become an important subject of socialist social governance with Chinese characteristics. Social enterprises pursue both economic and social goals and can benefit society and promote public welfare.¹³ As an important supplement to urban public transportation, the investment of industrial and commercial enterprises in transportation provides more choices for convenient travel for the elderly. In general, ride-hailing operators, navigation map service providers, bus manufacturers, and NGOs are playing an important and practical role in facilitating travel for the elderly. 

 

According to Article 11 of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, “business enterprises should respect human rights”; it is stipulated in Article 14 that “the responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights applies to all enterprises regardless of their size, sector, operational context, ownership and structure” and in Article 15 that “to meet their responsibility to respect human rights, business enterprises should have in place policies and processes appropriate to their size and circumstances.” The social responsibilities that companies should undertake in China are also stipulated in Article 5 of the Company Law of China. Although the government is the main agency obliged to facilitate the travel of the elderly, the public services provided by the government are not enough to fully meet the travel needs of the elderly with the accelerating aging of the population and the increasing travel demand of the elderly year by year. “Business is the major source of investment and job creation, and markets can be highly efficient means for allocating scarce resources. They constitute powerful forces capable of generating economic growth, reducing poverty, and increasing demand for the rule of law, thereby contributing to the realization of a broad spectrum of human rights.”¹⁴ As social subjects, enterprises should undertake the responsibility of respecting and protecting human rights, which is independent of the ability or willingness of the country to fulfill human rights obligations. It is an important dimension to protect the rights and interests of the elderly and also a solid guarantee for the realization of institutional goals to fully mobilize the energy of industrial and commercial enterprises to devote themselves to the cause of optimizing age-appropriate travel services or facilities under the market economy.

 

 

China has entered the 5G era, but there are still nearly 200 million elderly people who are “insulated” from the Internetinternet, known as “the elderly without G.” How to enable enterprises to win in new competitive fields, while effectively safeguarding the digital rights of the elderly and providing convenient travel services for the vast elderly population is a major issue facing industrial and commercial enterprises in the Internet era. Undoubtedly, enterprises should be able to make full use of the “method based on the rights and interests of the elderly” in their operation and development and adhere to the principle of “mainstreaming the rights of the elderly” in developing and using new technologies. By narrowing the digital divide and creating a good digital environment for the travel of the elderly, they will gain a competitive advantage. For example, electronic map service providers, transportation operators, search engines, and other platforms that provide public transportation information services should fully consider the needs of the elderly to obtain travel information and provide information transmission methods such as voice reading, high-contrast pages, and large-font pages. In addition to providing basic travel information, comprehensive, detailed, and timely updated information on accessibility travel should be provided in a way that is easy for the elderly to understand. For example, such information as the location of barrier-free facilities and the methods for the use of barrier-free facilities could be presented in auditory and visual ways. Enterprises should change the form of single telephone booking by developing mobile phone apps, enterprise WeChat mini-programs, or cooperation with third-party platforms, to further enrich online ride-hailing channels, promote the construction of a barrier-free taxi platform for online booking, and improve operational efficiency.

 

Enterprises can also independently develop services specifically for the convenience of the elderly. For example, “Dida Travel” launched a special action plan for “helping the elderly to travel” on January 7, 2021. Several measures for helping the elderly are highlighted were introduced. Firstly, it extends extended the “oneclick ride-hailing” function “without the need to enter the destination” to more cities. Secondly, it launches launched the function of “giving priority to the elderly in dispatching” and further optimizes optimized the function of “hailing a ride for others.” Thirdly, it launches launched the function of “family payment” and “frequently used location” and releases released an elderly exclusive model with large fonts and simplified procedures. Fourth, it cooperates cooperates with taxi management departments across the country to promote the 95128 e-hailing platform to include taxi dispatching. After elderly passengers call for a car through 95128, the ride demand can be sent directly to the Dida platform and the platform will send a car to pick up the passenger.¹⁵ These measures are all simplified designs to meet the needs of the elderly which reduce the cognitive cost of the elderly as much as possible. The design of intelligent auxiliary products that are convenient for the elderly and the exclusive services can satisfy their needs for simplicity and convenience as much as possible. For another example, AMAP and the China Population Welfare Foundation jointly launched the “Caring Travel Plan for the Elderly” which covers four actions. Firstly, one-click ride-hailing services are provided for the elderly on commonly used Internet internet applications by the elderly including AMAP, ALIPAY, and WeChat. Secondly, 10,000 ride-hailing stations for helping the elderly will be established national wide within five years, mainly in communities, hospitals, and other places where the elderly frequent. The elderly could will be able to hail a ride by merely scanning the QR code in the stations. Third, more than 10 million travel subsidies for helping the elderly to seek medical treatment will be issued every year for those over the age of 70 to reduce or exempt them from the cost of the ride for medical treatment. Fourth, training is organized in over 1,000 communities to help the elderly learn to use digital travel. “Caring Travel Plan for the Elderly” further integrates online and offline services for the elderly, lowers the threshold for digital travel, and helps the elderly travel more conveniently and integrate into the digital life.

 

 

To allow industrial and commercial enterprises to have greater motivation to devote themselves to the cause of barrier-free travel services in addition to the role of the market, the government can use policy and legal leverage to stimulate the motivation of enterprises for barrier-free services as external incentives. Taking the shortage of taxi-hailing services with barrier-free pedals in China as an example, the experience of London/the United Kingdom offers a reference. The government formulated preferential policies for the popularization of barrier-free equipment in taxis. From October 1, 2010, all taxis equipped with wheelchair equipment could apply for a reduction of taxes and fees. Driven by the policy, 61 percent of licensed regular taxis in London/ the United Kingdom were equipped with wheelchair installation facilities by the end of 2011. We should encourage and support leading enterprises in the transportation industry to take the lead in formulating age-friendly design standards and introducing smart products, promote the building of convenient travel information system platforms, and increase the interconnection of different platforms. Taking another example, we could encourage large-scale enterprises (for mobile travel, digital navigation, and manufacturing) whose annual turnover is above a certain level to participate in the age-friendly transformation of the urban environment and publish social responsibility reports regularly,¹⁶ which should cover the measures taken by the enterprise for barrier-free travel of the elderly. The self-regulation of the enterprises in conducting due diligence in human rights protection can enhance their corporate images, which will in turn further enhance their market competitiveness; on the other hand, the country and provinces can give awards at different levels to enterprises and individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the construction and management of the urban aging-friendly environment. Meanwhile, it is also possible to refer to the preferential tax policies of the State Administration of Taxation on promoting the employment of disabled persons and giving certain preferential tax policies to relevant enterprises that are responsible for helping the elderly to travel.

 

With the guidance and inclination of good policies and laws, enterprises can be motivated to build barrier-free travel environments and provide convenient services for elderly. Enterprises will make good use of normative support, which can not only enhance their market competitiveness but also improve the quality of the services provided for the elderly.

 

 

Local governments can issue preferential policies to guide and support enterprises and platforms to provide the elderly with high-quality services to facilitate their travel. For example, they can encourage public transport enterprises to carry out age-appropriate renovations. The government can pay for the shortfall in operating income of the public transport enterprises due to the increase in operating costs caused by the implementation of aging-appropriate renovations. Local finance departments should include the funds required for the elderly-appropriate renovation of public transport enterprises into the public financial budget. Meanwhile, they should clarify the responsible departments and subsidy standards and strengthen the review and supervision of the use of the funds for this purpose.¹⁷ Local governments should provide land and financial support for the transformation of the barrier-free travel environment, give priority to the approval of land use for elderly-friendly bus passenger stations, bus hubs, and other projects that cannot be transformed into the barrier-free travel environment due to land use reasons, and actively support the transformation of barrier-free travel environment for the elderly. Local governments should encourage citizens, legal persons, and other organizations to jointly participate in and support the construction and renovation of barrier-free travel environments through “naming,” social donations, investment and financing, technological innovation, public welfare sponsorship, charitable donations, and volunteer services.

 

Another example is to support enterprises to produce barrier-free taxis. Because the displacement of barrier-free taxis is higher than that of ordinary taxis and they face such problems as low utilization rate, large empty mileage, and small operating mileage, the operating cost is higher under the same price standard as that of ordinary taxis. Therefore, local transportation departments need to take multiple measures to support the investment and operation of barrier-free taxis. As early as 2008, Shanghai cooperated with Dazhong Taxi Company to set up the “Sunshine Fleet” of barrier-free taxis to provide preferential ride services for moderately, severely physically disabled, and multiple disabled people who need to travel in wheelchairs. The fleet is the first government-led and market-operated barrier-free taxi fleet in the mainland of China. Later, the fleet experienced twists and turns of shrinking of the market, outage, and resumption. At present, in addition to the 50 barrier-free taxis put into use in 2014, Shanghai Qiangsheng Taxi Company added 50 multi-functional barrier-free taxis in 2016. Excellent drivers have been selected to serve persons with disabilities by helping them get on and off and carrying luggage for them.¹⁸ Through the cooperation between the public sector, private enterprises, and communities, social resources can be fully mobilized to provide public services for persons with disabilities and the elderly, ensuring their right to travel and promoting their integration into society.

 

At present, the number, nature, and scale of traditional enterprises and internet enterprises that undertake diversified transportation functions in China vary greatly from each other. Apart from the market competition between them, there are extensive opportunities for cooperation. The cooperation between Dida Travel with taxi management departments across the country to promote the 95128 e-hailing platforms to include taxi dispatching is a successful attempt of such cooperation. Through extensive and in-depth cooperation, the government, enterprises, and platforms can integrate a wider range of travel resources to provide more convenient services for the elderly.

 

 

In China, the rights of the elderly are generally incorporated into the framework of rights protection for specific groups. The elderly do not have more claims for rights than other groups. Considering the different situations regarding the protection of the rights of the elderly, we should provide special implementation plans for realizing their rights. The improvement and implementation of the convenient travel system for the elderly involves different fields and departments such as transportation, urban planning, finance, and land use, municipal administration, public security and traffic control, and technical equipment, as well as diversified obligatory subjects and social forces, including legislative organs, administrative organs, judicial organs, enterprises, Internet platforms, elderly associations, industry associations, public welfare organizations, volunteer organizations, and so on. We should realize coordination and integration of relevant mechanisms to maximize the use of social resources and achieve the unification of universal and preferential rights protection.¹⁹ Negative perceptions, exclusion, and discrimination at the conceptual level have affected the positive role of the institution to varying degrees. Multiple market players have taken the initiative to take measures to join the cause of convenient travel for the elderly. Although they have just started, initial results have already been achieved. Ideas are the internal support of the institution while the market is the external guarantee.

 

We should start from the three-dimensional guarantee framework of concept, institution, and market and give full play to the independent roles and integrated functions of each dimension to create a friendlier, barrier-free, and convenient travel environment for the elderly and effectively guarantee their independence, self-reliance, and autonomy.

 

(Translated by HU Liang)

 

* ZHAO Shukun ( 赵树坤 ), Professor of the Human Rights Institute of the Southwest University of Political Science and Law. Doctor of Laws.

 

1. Zbigniew Wozniak, the Elderly in Social Policy-Towards a New Architecture of Gerontological Programmes, translated by Chen Xu (Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2019), 1.

 

2. Lin Xiaozhao, “Big Data on China’s Urban Aging: 149 Cities Are Aging Deeply, Concentrated in These Provinces”, accessed March 15, 2022.

 

3. Article 25 of the Regulations on the Construction of a Barrier-Free City in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, Article 15 of the Regulations on the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment in Hainan Province, Article 16 of the Administrative Measures for the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment in Anhui Province, the 2019-2021 Action Plan for Further Promoting the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment in Beijing, and Article 20 of the Measures for the Construction and Management of a Barrier-Free Environment in Shanghai Municipality.

 

4. Chang Jian, “The Unprecedented Fourth National Human Rights Action Plan for Opening up a New Era”, People’s Daily, September 13, 2021.

 

5. The questionnaire survey was conducted on WJX.cn. The respondents of the questionnaire were determined to be elderly people aged 60 and above in accordance with the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly and the area was limited to cities. A total of 550 questionnaires were distributed and 529 valid questionnaires were recovered.

 

6. Articles 24 and 36 of the Public Transport Regulations of Jincheng City.

 

7. Articles 23 and 41 of the Urban Public Transport Regulations of Huanggang City.

 

8. Qin Yaqing, Ideas, Institutions, and Policies: A Study of European Union’s Soft Power (Shanghai: Shanghai Bookstore, 1991), 11-12.

 

9. Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, Collected Works of Marx and Engels, vol. 6 (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 1961), 291-292.

 

10. Bian Shu, “The Elderly: Social Productivity That Can’t Be Neglected”, Theory and Reform 5 (2021).

 

11. Compiled by the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights (Beijing: Central Party Literature Press, 2021), 132.

 

12. Ma Fucai, “Promoting the Legislation on the Construction of a Barrier-Free Environment — the Social Construction Committee of the National People’s Congress Launches Research on Barrier-Free Environment Construction”, Democracy and Legal Times, March 9, 2022.

 

13. Cai Baogang, “Focus on Society: A Rule of Law Perspective on the Participation of Social Subjects in Social Governance”, Seeking Truth 6 (2021).

 

14. Protect, Respect and Remedy: a Framework for Business and Human Rights, formally presented to the Human Rights Council by the Special Representative in April 2008, A/HRC/8/5, 7 April 2008, para 2.

 

15. Cheng Chen, “Dida Travel Launches a Special Action Plan to Help the Travel of the Elderly”, E-commerce News, January 7, 2021.

 

16. For example, AMAP published a social responsibility report list in 2017 and Didi set up a social responsibility column on its official website. These measures have directly or indirectly promoted the enterprises’ due diligence in human rights protection and strengthened the social supervision.

 

17. Guo Chunfu, Wang Cuixia and Guo Qingqing, “The Practice and Thinking of the Innovate Government Purchase of Public Services of Chongqing”, Social Governance Review 9 (2017).

 

18. Jiang Yuezhong, “CPPCC Members Followed for 6 Years to Promote Another Copy of ‘Sunshine Fleet’ for Persons with Disabilities”, Xinmin Evening News, August 6, 2019.

 

19. Liu Yuan, “Mechanism Integration: New Ideas for the Protection of the Rights of the Elderly with Disabilities”, Disability Rights Studies in China (vol. 9) (Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2021), 144.