The effect of education programs on paratransit demand of people with disabilities

We describe a passenger education program to encourage reponsible use of paratransit by people with disabilities. We use state-of-the-art econometric techniques to evaluate its success. We find that it has moderate effects on demand for transportation but large effects on how passengers use the transportation. In particular, passengers are more responsible about meeting the transportation at the curb rather than waiting for help inside their home. Cost–benefit analysis of the program suggests that it is a long-term worthwhile activity.