Older Nonmetropolitan Residents' Evaluations of Their Transportation Arrangements

Abstract

This article uses data from focus groups to examine how older nonmetropolitan residents of upstate New York construct their transportation arrangements during different stages of the life course. The article also analyzes the effectiveness of different modes of transportation in facilitating life-maintenance and higher order needs of older individuals. Almost universally, youngold (age 65 to 74) rural residents drive themselves to most of their activities; a small proportion also use public buses to fill some of their transportation needs. Old-old (age 75 and older) individuals, by necessity, rely on a wider range of transportation options because of driving cessation among some in this group. The focus groups allowed older participants to speak for themselves regarding what they liked and disliked about different transportation options, thus providing findings that policy makers and transportation planners might use for designing transportation systems that meet the needs of older rural and small-town residents.As the United States becomes an increasingly older society, the safety and mobility of older persons, the primary and alternative modes of transportation used by and available to them, and the effectiveness of different modes of transportation in helping older persons maintain their independence will become increasingly important. Between 1990 and 2030, the population aged 65 and older is projected to more than double in size (Siegel, 1993). Large and increasing numbers and proportions of older people will result in increasing numbers and proportions of older drivers. Moreover, with the increasing numbers and proportions of oldest-old (aged 85 and older), older Downloaded from individuals are more likely to reach a point where the cessation of driving and a search for alternative means of transportation are necessary. With continuing rapid increases in the numbers and proportions of older people, it behooves researchers, policy makers, and practitioners to plan for the transportation needs of current and future older cohorts.Effective transportation arrangements contribute to older persons' social integration by facilitating social interaction, community participation, and access to goods and services (Glasgow, 1998). Especially among older rural residents, activities are often too distant to reach by walking, and older rural people risk social isolation if they do not have effective transportation arrangements. The general analytical framework guiding this research is that rural older persons construct their transportation arrangements in a variety of ways depending on their personal characteristics, life stage, the nature of their social networks, and the attributes of their communities.According to Rosenbloom (1988), rural older people make almost 90% of their trips in private vehicles, although not necessarily as the driver. This information is useful, but it does not tell us how and why older rural residents construct their transportation arrangements as they do. The present study analyzes qualitativ...

Access to Public Transit and Its Influence on Ridership for Older Adults in Two U.S. Cities

“…As a result, they perform much of their travel during the midday and on weekends (Collia et al 2003). During these off-peak times, xed-route transit service tends to be less frequent than it is during weekday peak hours (Glasgow and Blakeley 2000;Hayden et al 2004;Nelson 2002;Taylor et al 2000).…”

Factors Preventing the Use of Alternative Transport Modes to the Car in Later Life

“…The car meets the majority of transport needs of older people by fulfilling most of the conditions that Metz [6] describes as defining mobility (access to desired places; psychological benefits of travel; benefits of physical movement; maintaining social networks and maintaining potential travel). It also provides autonomy, flexibility and independence [18], it is available at any hour and allows desired destinations to be reached conveniently [19]. Moreover, it can compensate for health impairments, allowing older people to be independent when undertaking daily activities [20].…”

“…Stopping driving can be perceived as a loss of independence [19,29] and is strongly associated with symptoms of depression [30,31]. Furthermore, the car remains the preferred mode of transport once driving has been given up, since asking for a lift from family or friends is considered the first option for people who cannot drive [18,19,[32][33][34][35][36].…”

Characteristics of Age-Friendly Bus Information

“…Participants from Hervey Bay provided perspectives on a regional bus service, and participants from Brisbane represented users of a metropolitan bus service. The two sites were selected to provide divergent perspectives, as transport disadvantage is known to differ between metropolitan and more rural contexts (Glasgow and Blakely 2000).…”

“…In Australia, for instance, the proportion of older people is expected to at least double in the first half of this century (Alsnih and Hensher 2003). Older people have a greater risk of difficulty catching buses and other forms of public transport, despite an increased reliance on public transport for community mobility (Glasgow and Blakely 2000;Dent et al 1999;Davey 2007). In a study involving 620 older Australians (age 75 and over), a third reported difficulty using public transport (Dent et al 1999).…”