Older people are more active and fit than previous generations. Hence, they are more mobile than ever. However, they continue to suffer a reduction in quality of life when giving-up driving. This paper reports research carried out to identify the role of mobility and accessibility in older people"s self-reported quality of life, through an in-depth examination of older people"s travel needs. A wholly qualitative approach, utilising a variety of data collection methods including focus groups, interview and diary completion, was employed with 57 people aged over 65 in the UK, of which 26 were drivers and 31 had recently given-up driving. The findings emphasise the importance of mobility for accessing services and shops. However, the reasons why older people travel and the importance of mobility go beyond accessibility to include the desire for independence, control, maintaining status, inclusion, "normalness" and travel for its own sake. These are all related to an individual"s perception of quality of life. When older people give-up driving their self-reported quality of life is reduced and this seems very much related to a reduction in affective and aesthetic qualities of mobility that a car affords that walking and using public transport lacks. It is suggested that policy and practice needs to consider such motives for travel.
This research uses grounded theory to assess the driving needs of 29 older car drivers using four data collection techniques (two waves of focus groups, an interview and a driver diary). Findings suggest that older drivers view themselves as having better driving skills and attitude towards driving compared to when they were younger and compared to other drivers. In addition, they have a good ability to adapt to their changing physiology. Nevertheless, they report difficulty in assessing their own driving ability and cite they would like help to increase self-awareness about the driving task. In addition, the participants report having increasing difficulty in not having enough time to read, compute and comprehend road signs, maintaining a constant speed at the speed-limit, increased tiredness and fatigue and increased sensitivity to glare. The findings suggest given an iterative, qualitative methodology where driving issues are focused upon, older drivers can become more self-aware of their driving limitations and discuss these aspects in the context of ageing physiology.
In 2010 we published a model of older people's travel and mobility needs in the Quality of Ageing and Older Adults journal (Musselwhite and Haddad, 2010). The model comprises three levels, practical (the need to get from A to B as quickly, cheaply and efficiently as possible), psychosocial (the need for independence, control and status) and aesthetic needs (the need for travel for its own sake), all which need to be fulfilled to achieve wellbeing and quality of life. Since then, the model has been translated into different languages and been cited 119 times across different formats. • Design/methodology/approach (mandatory) Using 10 years of analysing feedback that includes articles that cited the model, discussions with academics, policymakers and practitioners as well as from older people themselves, this paper reflects on the original model. • Findings (mandatory) Five key themes are generated from the re-examination: (1) the validity of the model; (2) the utility and usefulness of needs in understanding travel behaviour and turning them into policy or practice; (3) application of the model to different contexts; (4) understanding the relationship between travel needs and health and wellbeing; and (5) fitting the model to future changes in transport and social policy. • Originality/value (mandatory) This reflection on this well cited and well used model allows a readjustment of the model, updating it to be used in conjunction with policy and practice, especially highlighting the need to further distinguish mobility for aesthetic needs.
Exposure to air pollution is affected by human behaviour, and has consequences for individual and collective health. One way to lessen the health effects of air pollution is to change personal travel behaviour with the help of new information, communication and sensing technologies. Our social research tracked the experiences of participants, air quality and technology enthusiasts, based in London who financially contributed to participate in an early-stage technical trial of a new air pollution sensor and app providing individuals with air pollution information (specifically levels of NO 2 and VOCs). This paper reports the results of a before and after survey (returning respondents n = 22) and 12 in-depth interviews with individuals who took part in the beta test of the sensor and phone app. The survey results show that travel-related behaviours and attitudes relevant to air pollution did not change after using the technology. In contrast, expectations of technology performance and the extent it would influence behaviours were significantly lower after the trial than before. Further exploration during semi-structured interviews found that the participants, given their already high level of engagement with the topic, felt the capacity for immediate individual behaviour change was limited. As well as time and practical constraints, most people in this sample felt they were already doing what they could to avoid high levels of air pollution in their daily lives. Despite this, they had some recommendations to improve the app, such as the inclusion of real-time and historic maps, and the ability to make self and other comparisons. Overwhelmingly, people saw a broader role for the technology to engage the public with air pollution through raising awareness, and harnessing citizen science to collect diverse reliable data to inform policy and influence local policymakers to reduce air pollution levels.
UWE makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited. UWE makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights. UWE accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR TEXT.Commute replacement and commute displacement: the rise of part-day homeworking AbstractTeleworking is a topic which has been the subject of research attention in transport studies for many years. Particular consideration has been given to occasional homeworking by (fulltime, paid) employees on the basis that this can represent a very tangible removal of commute trips on homeworking days. However, there has been very little recognition of or attention given to the fact that homeworking may not only be undertaken for part of a week but may be undertaken for parts of given days. This paper focuses particularly upon part-day homeworking. It defines and uses the term "varied spatio-temporal (VST) working" to describe working days where at least 30 minutes of continuous working takes place at home accompanied by work taking place at the workplace. Notably, such homeworking does not remove the commute trips but can temporally displace one or both of them. The research reported in the paper builds upon preceding survey work which had established that the number of people VST working and the number of VST days worked appear to be about double that for full-day homeworking (which has typically been the focus of research attention). The results in this paper are based on 25 in-depth interviews with individuals who practice VST working. The paper's aim is to more closely examine and understand the nature of VST working, the motivations and constraints for it being practiced and to consider its potential contribution as a transportation demand management measure.
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