• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.145-166
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• 2023

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to a widespread shift towards non-face-to-face/uncrewed services in various sectors of society. Despite this, research on the digital divide has focused predominantly on analyzing various factors, with the notable absence of studies addressing the digital divide. Therefore, study examined the current digital divide in the transportation sector through a survey-based approach. First, a nationwide survey was conducted among adult men and women to assess their digital device usage. Vulnerable groups sesceptible to digital disparities were identified based on factors such as age, education, and income. Second, comparative analysis was conducted to examine the usage patterns of mobile applications related to the transportation sector among the vulnerable and non-vulnerable groups using chi-squared test. These findings suggest that the vulnerable group exhibited lower awareness and preference for mobile applications, a significantly lower frequency of application usage than the non-vulnerable group. Finally, a comparison of the proficiency in utilizing transportation sector mobile applications was conducted, showing that the vulnerable group demonstrated a significantly lower level of proficiency across all aspects of application usage procedures compared to the non-vulnerable group. These survey results provide a valuable foundation for future policy formulation to reduce the digital divide in the transportation sector. By highlighting the current state of digital disparities, the research contributes to developing evidence-based strategies to enhance inclusivity and equal access to digital services in tjwtransportation.