The rapid growth of the elderly population may be creating special transportation challenges. People who are reaching retirement age have been drivers throughout their adult lives. The elderly are likely to become transportation disadvantaged as the aging process takes its toll. Aging often leads to physical disabilities that make driving difficult, hazardous, or impossible. Elderly drivers are more likely to be involved in crashes (based on exposure rates), and are more likely to suffer serious or fatal injury in crashes. Available evidence suggests that the elderly hold on to their cars as long as possible in order to retain their mobility (Rosenbloom, 2001). They do not rely more heavily on public transit. Indeed, the elderly use public transit less than the non-elderly. When the elderly can no longer drive, mobility may be seriously compromised, especially in areas where there is no suitable alternative to the car. Since mobility is critical to quality of life, those without mobility may suffer isolation, depression, and other ills.
At the time this project was funded, the intent of the research was to determine whether public transportation might play a larger role in serving the demands of the elderly in the future. The research had the following objectives:
1. Document and describe travel patterns of the elderly.
2. Explain travel patterns as a function of age, household and individual characteristics, residential location, and attitudes.
3. Explore public transportation service alternatives that better address the travel patterns of the elderly.
Shortly after the project was funded, three new studies appeared. The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) issued a Round Table Report, Transport and Ageing of the Population (2000). Included in the report was a comparative discussion of travel patterns of the elderly in the US and in Europe. The Transportation Research Board was finishing a report on mobility issues of the elderly (2002, forthcoming). This report includes a chapter on elderly travel patterns and another on public transit. Finally, the Transit Cooperative Research Program had funded Project B-19, Improving Public Transit Options for Older Persons (WESTAT, 2000).