Senior-Friendly Transportation

By Debbie Sullivan Reslock, AICP

We're outliving our ability to drive, according to a 2002 study in the American Journal of Public Health. The difference between life expectancy and driving expectancy is seven years for men and 10 years for women. But finding a way to fill that gap could make the difference between healthy aging and isolation.

Hanging up your car keys used to leave few options — asking for rides, staying at home, or taking the bus — if you were lucky enough to live where service was available. But today, there are more choices to help keep seniors engaged and connected.

The first step

After the car, the second most used mode of travel for those 65 and older is walking, which accounts for nine percent of trips taken by this age group. But this choice isn't always an easy one. That's especially true if there are unsafe intersections, few places to rest along the way, and a lack of sidewalks. Poorly maintained sidewalks, or those that fail to connect with other walkways, aren't much better than none at all.

"Walking is probably the most dangerous thing I do in a day," Denver resident Mary Halpin says. At age 77, Halpin travels over sidewalks that are in bad shape, either uneven or full of cracks. And several don't have curb ramps, which she needs for her rolling walker to transition from sidewalk to street at crosswalks.

Making pedestrian routes walkable is vital if they are to be a mobility option for an aging population. Solutions can include increasing the time allowed to cross the street, installing better signage, and developing senior pedestrian zones. Walk audits can also bring residents and public officials together to evaluate a neighborhood's concerns and identify needed improvements.

But even when walkways are in good shape, it sometimes helps to remind people how appealing it can be to travel by foot. After putting up signs that pointed out how long it took to reach specific destinations in Raleigh, North Carolina, architectural student Matt Tomasulo launched the Walk [YourCity] program to help other communities encourage people to explore their world as a pedestrian. That approach is now being used elsewhere.

Freedom to choose

Getting seniors where they want to go only solves part of the problem. Many seniors feel a loss of independence when they're no longer able to drive, so it's important to offer transportation choices.

"I voluntarily gave up driving about 10 years ago, when I started having problems with my balance," Halpin says. "I made the decision for myself and for others. It wasn't fair for me to keep driving. But I absolutely hate asking people for a ride. I've always been strong and independent and so if I have to ask, it's as a last resort."

Halpin has several options and can usually plan her own transportation. She frequently travels on a fixed route bus equipped with a lift or ramp and drivers who are trained to help passengers on and off. She also uses Access-a-Ride, a door-to-door service for those who need more assistance.

She has other alternatives on hand, too. Denver's SeniorRide program gets groups to specific events — movies, concerts, art center exhibits, and tours of the city — and it is popular. "We serve a lot of people and when things go wrong, we hear about it," says Brian Matthews, special services manager for the Regional Transportation District. "But with the SeniorRide program, we almost never get a complaint. We're making it possible for people to get out of their homes and do [the things that] any of us would want to do."

SeniorShopper, another service, takes users directly to the store and back — so that seniors don't have to try to board a fixed route bus laden with groceries. Denver, like agencies in other cities, also helps seniors learn how to use these services and decide which options best suit their needs.

Filling in the gap

Public transit doesn't work well for everyone, of course. Transportation for America, an advocacy coalition for locally driven transportation solutions, estimates that this year more than 15 million Americans aged 65 and older live in areas where public transportation is spotty or nonexistent, so additional resources are needed.

Supplemental transportation programs can help fill in the gaps. Frequently used in rural or suburban areas and operated by faith-based organizations, local nonprofits, or human service agencies, they offer door-to-door service. Some even offer companionship, providing a "door-through-door" service, where the drivers accompany their clients to social outings like lunch or a movie.

While many senior options require advance reservations, fast-response ride-sharing programs like Uber and Lyft quickly connect passengers and drivers. Two new efforts take it a step further: UberWAV provides wheelchair accessible vehicles and UberASSIST includes not just accessible vehicles but also drivers trained to help disabled riders. Another, Lift Hero, was started in the San Francisco Bay area (and is currently available only there) by a man who saw how much trouble his grandmother had getting around after she stopped driving.

Keeping seniors in the driver's seat

There's also a focus on how to keep older drivers in their cars longer. To better understand the issues, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is funding a study of 3,000 seniors in vehicles equipped with GPS. Partnering with Columbia University's School of Public Health, researchers there will look at driving patterns, maneuvers, and where and when participants choose to drive.

The CarFit program, sponsored by AAA, AARP, and the American Occupational Therapy Association, helps older drivers evaluate whether their cars are properly adjusted for them: Is the foot positioning on the gas and brake pedals correct? Are you sitting too close to the steering wheel? AARP also gives a refresher course on traffic laws and safety issues.

Although driverless cars may seem like a perfect solution, the consensus is that the headlines are years ahead of the technology, according to a joint conference of the Stanford Center on Longevity and the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford. (See "When Autonomous Cars Take to the Road," May 2015.) But other advances now or soon available can help drivers with blind spot warnings, self-parking guidance, or alerts that sound when they sense the driver is getting drowsy.

The upside

As the aging population grows, seniors' desire to remain independent will no doubt keep pace. Communities will need to continue searching for convenient, accessible, and affordable mobility options — something already occurring in Denver.

Further, although cognitive or physical changes may eventually require a different means of transportation as we age, there may be an upside. Halpin says she loved to drive, but taking the bus has its benefits, too: "It gives me time to think or people watch."

At this point in life, she doesn't have to rush to get from point A to point B. But even more importantly, having the ability to get around by forethought gives her back her autonomy.

Debbie Sullivan Reslock is a freelance writer and partner with Reslock and Sullivan in Evergreen, Colorado.

Resources

Image: Mary Halpin of Denver, who stopped driving about 10 years ago, gets around on foot and by using various transportion services. Photo by Debbie Sullivan Reslock.