Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

A top-10 resolution of the 2005 White House Conference on Aging is to “Ensure that older Americans have transportation options to retain their mobility and independence.” Considering that by the year 2030 the U.S. older adult population will double to almost 72 million persons, rapid work toward this goal is essential.

For older adults, unmet transportation needs are linked to reduced well-being. Mobility is a critical to overall life satisfaction, because it facilitates completing tasks of living and helps maintaining links with family, friends, community, and care providers.

To make critical policy and service decisions we must know about what older persons perceive as barriers to using fixed-route public transit. Previous research concerning access and mobility for older adults is limited. Further barriers to transit option are unevenly distributed and may disproportionately affect older adults with disabilities. The National Health Interview Survey reports a greater occurrence of multiple disabilities among older adults who are Black/African American, female, low-income, and residents of urban centers.

To ascertain patterns of transit use and perceived barriers to transit use, a total of 1,800 surveys were mailed to older adults, aged 60 years and older living in Buffalo, NY, and San José, CA. We received 759 (42%) surveys from adults aged 76 years (SD 7.2) with 65% females. Respondents were 40% nonwhite, including 19% Asian, 9% Black/African American, and 5% Latino. Further, 36% of respondents report a monthly income of $1,000 or less, and another 36% report that of $1,001-2,000. A total of 40% of the respondents make some use of an assistance device (e.g. cane, walker) when ambulating. Finally, 46% of the respondents have traveled on public transit, with 46% of these respondents using public at least monthly and 32% traveling multiple times per week or daily.

Quantitative findings indicate that nonwhite elders are more likely to ride public transit multiple times during a week than white elders; this is particularly evident in the San José data. Those with lower income, in both cities, are more likely to ride public transit. Analyses suggest that physical ability and presence of assistance from family mediate predictors of transit use. Qualitative findings suggest that older adults are concerned about the use of public transit for essential needs—such as groceries and health care. However qualitative and quantitative findings indicate some reluctance to rely on public transit. Barriers to public transit use include costs, physical ability, perceptions of safety, and weather-related barriers.

Results from this study (1) advance our understandings of diverse older adult's perceptions about public transit, (2) identify short-term interventions to make riding buses and trains more accessible to older adults, and (3) provide insight and direction for long-term planning for universally accessible public transit. Future policy recommendations will need to address disparities in perceptions and accessibility of public transit. In conclusion, successful public transit is characterized well by one respondent who writes: “Public transit is very important to me, especially as I age. {It} allows me to maintain some semblance of INDEPENDENCE.”