MOBILITY OF THE ELDERLY: GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS

This paper has seven sections that accomplish the following purposes: (1) Evaluate older people's population trends and analyze the demographic differences; (2) Identify basic travel patterns and trends among the elderly, including the dramatic increase in automobility and travel over the last 10 years; (3) Consider differences in the travel patterns of those with and without a driver's license; (4) Focus on women's travel and the still growing gender disparities as people age; (5) Evaluate differences in travel patterns by race and ethnicity (differences not generally explained by income or residential location); (6) Summarize the "bad news"; and (7) Outline positive steps to ensure that the good news about aging outweighs the bad. In conclusion, it is stated that, to meet the needs of older people, a comprehensive strategy will need to be developed--one that encompasses all the substantive issues and links all the policy arenas that affect the travel patterns of older people. Such a strategy will include: effective driver evaluation and retraining programs, better-designed cars and improved signage and information systems on roads and highways, user-friendly public transport networks, choice of transportation alternatives, well-designed land use and housing choices, cost-effective delivery of private and public services, and coordinated delivery of human and social services.

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  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/conf/reports/cp_27.pdf
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  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
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• Authors:
  • Rosenbloom, S
• Conference:
  • Transportation in an Aging Society: A Decade of Experience
  • Location: Bethesda Maryland, United States
  • Date: 1999-11-7 to 1999-11-9
• Publication Date: 2004

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 3-21
• Monograph Title: TRANSPORTATION IN AN AGING SOCIETY: A DECADE OF EXPERIENCE. TECHNICAL PAPERS AND REPORTS FROM A CONFERENCE, NOVEMBER 7-9, 1999, BETHESDA, MARYLAND
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Board Conference Proceedings
  • Issue Number: 27
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 1073-1652

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aged; Aged drivers; Demographics; Ethnic groups; Gender; Land use; Mobility; Mode choice; Population; Public service; Public transit; Race; Retraining; Social service; Strategic planning; Traffic signs; Travel patterns; Traveler information and communication systems; Trend (Statistics); Vehicle design
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00974940
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309077451
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jun 24 2004 12:00AM