5.5. Lost Earnings and Additional Expenses Due to Inaccessible Transit

 
A national unemployment rate of over 7% in the United States is considered an indicator of economic distress.   This figures pales in comparison to the 70% unemployment rate for the blind reported by Kirchner et al.  (1999) of the 40% by NCHS.  In addition, under-employment can also affect the ability of a blind person to fully realize their potential, and it affects their quality of life.

5.5.1. Reduced Earnings and Inaccessible Employment

The estimates reported in the previous section dealt with all aspects of vision loss and its affect on employment.   To determine if transit access affected employment potential and earnings, subjects were asked a more specific question about how much more money they could make if they had independent access to transit in the pre-test interview:  “If I was able to use unfamiliar transit and make transfers independently and with less difficulty, I could probably make $----more per year.”  
 
Some people were students, retired, or felt they were fully employed.   For the 20 people who said this question applied to them, they thought they could make, on average, over $16,750 more per year.   The average for all 30 subjects was $11,167 per year of perceived earnings lost due to inaccessible transit.  
 
After using RIAS in the experiment, subjects were asked: “If Talking Signs ® were installed citywide on all transit, intersections, signs, and buildings, I could probably make $-----more per year.” Again, there were some subjects who were not concerned with gaining or changing employment, but 20 subjects reported they could earn an average of $12,385 more per year, if RIAS was installed.  The more conservative amount, the average of all 30 subjects ($8,257 per year in increased earnings) will hereafter be used.   These estimates are quite substantial, indicating how much this population felt that earning potential was denied by the lack of independent travel opportunities.  
 
There was no significant difference between the pre-test estimated benefit for increased earnings through “independent access” and the amount given for the effects of using RIAS.   Individual data points and the means diamonds are shown (see APPENDIX 24 : Data Plot of Estimated Additional Earnings ).  These numbers are not intended to be interpreted as what would actually happen in the real world.   What is important is to realize that these are the amounts that people place on the denied income caused by vision loss and its effect on the inability to travel independently, showing a benefit derived from increased access to transit and travel.   These data highlight how access to transit is perceived to affect employment opportunities and lends support to the idea that it is the lack of access to travel that is one of the causes of the extremely high unemployment rate among this group.    

5.5.2. Reduced Spending for Travel Assistance

The inability to travel independently also can have a direct monetary cost.   People with restricted vision might have to pay for expensive cab rides, pay a friend, hire a sighted guide, or pay someone to do errands at locations that they can’t access easily.   One might even have a paid driver or assistant for employment.   Blind people with discretionary income might find it very worthwhile to have a paid personal aide or chauffeur to maintain a high quality of life.   To discover the additional cost incurred by this dependency on others (the inability to travel independently), subjects were asked how much less they would spend on assistance if travel could be made independently.   The specific question was: “If I was able to use unfamiliar transit and make transfers independently and with less difficulty, I could reduce my spending for assistance by  $-----per year.”   This question was asked in the pre-test interview, and 24 subjects reported they paid for assistance, with an average expenditure of   $1,620 per year.  One subject paid $20,000 per year for a driver because of lack of access to transit.   If that is removed from the data, there still is an average expense of $821 per person for all those who reported this expense.   This is a large amount to pay in order to gain access to activities, an amount that is not paid by other people for travel assistance.   Using the more conservative estimation, the average cost reported by all 30 subjects is $1,296 per year.  
 
After the field test, subjects were asked if RIAS could help them reduce their expenditures for assistance in travel caused by their lack of vision and independent travel.  The question was: “If Talking Signs® were installed citywide on all transit, intersections, and buildings, I could reduce my spending for assistance by  $-----per year.”   Most of the subjects reported that RIAS could save money that they currently spent on travel assistance, and 26 subjects reported an average savings of $1,462 per year.  Removing the one subject with the driver, the average was $720.   The average for all 30 subjects was a reported yearly savings of $1,267. 
 
There was no significant difference between the pre-test estimations on the cost of assistance, due to limited access to transit, and what they reported they could save if RIAS was installed citywide.   Individual data points are shown (see APPENDIX 24 : Data Plot of Estimated Additional Earnings ).  These expenses often come directly out-of-pocket, and it is highly likely that this group gave a good estimation of their real expenses.    

5.5.3. Summation of Lost Income and Expense Due to Restricted Travel

The next table summarizes the perceived benefits placed on RIAS as it relates to earnings potential from increased transit and travel access to employment opportunities and the expenses associated with having to depend on others for some travel needs.   For easier comparison, the daily amount for these benefits are shown.     

Table 5. 3   Estimated Benefit of Using RIAS

Perceived Benefits of the Ability to

Travel Independently using RIAS

$ Per Year

$ Per Day

Extra Income from Employment

8,257

22.50

Money Saved on Travel Assistance

1,267

3.50

Total Benefit of Using RIAS

9,523

26.00
 
The average benefit placed on the use of RIAS, for the entire sample size, was a positive change of $26 per day.   That is a sizeable amount to place on the limitations and restrictions caused by the lack of access to independent travel.

 
BACK TO OVERVIEW
BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEXT SECTION