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The travel patterns and travel mode choice of the elderly are analyzed. The elderly are here defined as those who are both 65 or older and retired. A rapid increase in the older population and their proportion in society has tremendous implications for transportation planning and the policy arena. Previous studies on mode choice have been largely focused on working-age people, and existing studies on the travel mode choice of the elderly are limited to descriptive analyses. A systematic analysis is presented of the mode choice of the elderly and how it relates to activity purpose. It is found that neighborhood and trip characteristics, as well as personal and household characteristics, are associated with the mode choice of this group. For example, the elderly are more likely to use transit if they live within five blocks of a bus stop, and they are more likely to share a ride with others when chaining trips, doing errands, or going to a medical appointment and are less likely to use transit when going shopping or doing errands. The elderly prefer walking when going on recreational or personal trips. Those with a higher income are more likely to drive or carpool. The results shed light on the mode choice of the elderly and contribute to the development of a transportation policy framework that considers the elderly. The results suggest that transportation strategies must move beyond private automobiles to prepare adequately for the increasing number of the elderly in society and their mobility needs.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether a decreased hamstring activation rate among the elderly is responsible for a higher horizontal heel contact velocity and increased likelihood of slip-induced falls compared to their younger counterparts. Twenty-eight subjects from two age groups (14 young and 14 old) walked across a linear walking track with embedded force platforms while wearing a fall arresting harness attached to an overhead arresting rig for safety. In order to obtain realistic unexpected slip-induced fall data, a soapy vinyl floor surface was hidden from the subjects and unexpectedly introduced. Synchronized kinematics, kinetic and electromyography (EMG) analyses during the heel contact phase of the gait cycle while walking over slippery and nonslippery floor surfaces were examined in the study. Normalized EMG data were examined in terms of hamstring activation rate and evaluated with heel contact velocity and friction demand characteristic (as measured by peak required coefficient of friction (RCOF)) on the dry vinyl floor surface. Furthermore, slip parameters (i.e. slip distances and slipping velocity) were assessed on the soapy vinyl floor surface. The results indicated that younger adults' hamstring activation rate was higher than older adults, whereas younger adults' heel contact velocity was not different from older adults. These results suggested that heel contact velocity in younger adults was sufficiently reduced before the heel contact phase of the gait cycle. This could be due to the outcome of higher hamstring activation rate in younger adults in comparison to older adults. However, lower friction demand (peak RCOF), shorter slip distances, slower peak sliding heel velocity and more falls among older adults suggested that the slip initiation characteristics were not the only factors contributing to slip-induced falls among the elderly.

Rapid growth of the older population poses a significant challenge in transportation. This study investigated stated transportation alternatives of the elderly, age 65 and older, when they can no longer drive; the data are from a national survey conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons in 2004. Using a multinomial logit model, this study analyzed various personal, household, and neighborhood environmental factors associated with transportation alternatives. The study found that getting a ride was the most preferred mode of transportation, regardless of the residential environment. Females were less likely to consider public transit or walking as their preferred transportation alternatives when they could no longer drive, and Hispanics were more likely to consider public transit as their alternative. The elderly with high incomes had a higher propensity toward walking when they were no longer able to drive. Walking was more popular among urban elderly residents. Public transit accessibility increased the propensity toward public transit use, and greater accessibility to activity locations within walking distance increased the propensity toward walking. Finally, the elderly were less likely to consider public transit and walking as their alternatives when they ceased driving if they had never been without transportation.