5.6. Monetary Benefit of Independent Travel

By placing a monetary benefit on different scenarios, people can express the quality and extent of their desire for changes in behavior.   A change in a perceived quality of a life adjustment can thus be compared between people and scenarios.   Two scenarios were previously discussed (see Section 4.2 , Perceived Travel Behavior while Making Transfers ) that dealt with mode choice in making a ten-mile transit trip and mode change to a one-time event or a daily job.   A series of questions was asked about the benefit subjects put on perceived and actual possible changes to their life.   Those benefits are explained in this section.   The methodology and validity of these kinds of willingness to pay data are discussed in the next chapter.   For each of the two scenarios, the following question was asked.  

  • Pre-test: “How much would you be willing to pay for a sighted guide to get you to and from the event (or job)?”
     
    Many did not want to pay a sighted guide or ask for that type of assistance.  
  • For the one-time event, 18 people said they would pay an average of $16 for a sighted guide.   The average for the 30 subjects was $10 per event.  
     
  • For the daily job scenario, 13 people said they would pay an average of $7 for a sighted guide.   The average for the 30 subjects was $3 per day  

    5.6.1. Independent Travel to A One-Time Event

    Table 5.4 shows the benefits placed on independent travel for this scenario.   These questions did not apply to some individuals; therefore, the mean is shown for both those who gave an amount and for the 30 subjects.  

    Table 5. 4   Monetary Benefit of Independently Travel to a One-Time Event
    Willingness-To-Pay Scenarios N= Mean $
    Pre-test: “How much money would you be willing to pay if you were able to independently travel the new route and make the transfer yourself?”  30 16
    28 17
    Pre-test:  “How much extra money would you be willing to pay for this event if you were able to have the same access to the information on signs, at streets intersections, on transit and in buildings that the sighed public enjoys?” 30 25
    27 28
    Post-test: “How much money would you be willing to pay to be able to use Talking Signs ® for this trip if they were installed on transit, intersections, signs and buildings?” 30 19
    29 19
     
    The more conservative amount of the overall mean will be used later.   These benefits placed on the ability to travel independently are quite high and show the importance this group places on the ability to freely access urban opportunities.    All but one subject said they would pay to use Talking Signs ®.  That one person adamantly stated that she would pay nothing, because sighted people don’t pay for signs and, mentioning the ADA, said it would not be fair if she had to pay.   The other 29 subjects said they would pay between $1 and $80, with an average of $19 per day, for a special event (see APPENDIX 26 for the individual data points for the three questions).  
     
    The pre-test questions required subjects to self-generate how this hypothetical access to independent travel would become available.   Those questions attempted to capture the benefit of this increased mobility without any specific components being given to them.   The last question concerned a specific device that they had just used in the experiment.  If RIAS had been valued much lower, it would indicate that the system did not fully meet their expectations for an environmental enhancement.   However, there was no significant difference between the two non-specific and heretofore unattainable goals and the specific scenarios of using RIAS.   An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed F(2,87) = 0.77, P>.05.   It appears that RIAS met much of their criteria for the desired access that they previously envisioned.     

    5.6.2. Independent Travel to a Daily Job

    Table 5.5 shows the benefits given for the second 10-mile scenario.   As expected, the amount they would pay for access to a daily job is less than a one-time special event.  
     
    Table 5. 5   Monetary Benefits of Independently Travel to a Daily Job
    Willingness-To-Pay Scenarios N= AVG
    Pre-test: “How much money would you be willing to pay if you were able to independently travel t he new route and make the transfer yourself ?”   30 6
    27 7
    Pre-test:  “How much extra money would you be willing to pay for this event if you were able to have the same access to the information on signs, at streets intersections, on transit and in buildings that the sighed public enjoys?” 30 8
    27 9
    Post-test: “How much money would you be willing to pay to be able to use Talking Signs ® for this trip if they were installed on transit, intersections, signs and buildings?” 30 10
    29 11
     
    These benefits measure the demand for increased access to travel, transit, and employment.  They show a large daily expense that people said they would pay for “equal access” which is currently mandated by the ADA (as its underlying principal) but which is currently specified in a limited fashion.
     
    The same subject firmly stated that it would be unfair for any blind person to have to pay for access and appropriate signage.   Again, there was no significant difference between the two self-generated, non-specific, and heretofore-unattainable goals and the specific scenarios of using RIAS.  ANOVA resulted in F (2.87) = 2.24, P>.05.  
     
    These two sets of monetary valuations show that this blind population placed a high amount of importance on the ability to travel independently.   This offer to pay is an indication of how independent travel is an enhancement to their quality of life.   The current inability to have this kind of access, especially in unfamiliar places, is seen as something that is worth paying money for in order to overcome these limitations.  
     
    These benefit amounts appear to be much higher than public agencies use in their calculations for aid to travelers with vision impairments, indicating that the amounts offered as disabilities subsidies do not match the perceived worth of making the trip independently and, thus, probably do little to encourage extra travel.

    5.6.3. Offer to Pay for Daily Use of RIAS

    The final question about monetary trade-offs to use RIAS was a direct question asked at the end of the experiment.   The question asked was: “I would be willing to pay $------per day to be able to use Talking Signs® if they were installed citywide and gave me the same access to signs as the sighted public.”   The same subject objected to paying for signage.    
     
    The question was asked to determine the benefit placed on this type of spatial information, and the remaining 29 subjects all offered a payment amount for their use and gave an average response of $5 per day (see APPENDIX 26 for individual data points).

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