Once seniors are too old to drive, our transportation system totally fails them

[KamaAina]

Last edited Mon Apr 4, 2016, 04:54 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.vox.com/2015/6/12/8768827/seniors-aging-car-driving

During the early years of his retirement, he'd been very active, volunteering at the local library and chauffeuring older folks who couldn't drive themselves. Over time, he slowed down, but remained independent — so much so that after a year or so in a retirement home, he stubbornly moved back into his own apartment. Though he was in his 80s, he didn't like the idea of being surrounded by — as he put it — "old people."

Eventually, his health declined to the point where it really wasn't safe for him to drive anymore. And though he used to take long walks daily, he could no longer traverse the vast parking lots and six-lane arterial roads surrounding his suburban Maryland apartment.

Ultimately, he ended up largely stuck at home, entirely dependent on family to bring him food, give him rides, and provide simple human contact. In his final years, the car-based transportation system he'd relied on for his whole life really failed him.

His story is shared by millions of other American seniors, about 80 percent of whom live outside of urban areas. "As people have aged in the suburbs, they've been left behind," says Phil Stafford, director of Indiana University's Center on Aging and Community.

edit: Same goes for many people with disabilities of all ages, including yours truly and my 55 walk score (in America's Tenth-Largest City(TM)!).

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Compare and contrast with Japan

It already has a fantastic transportation system in the larger cities, and seniors make use of it, especially in the middle of the day. The governments are very conscious of the aging of their country, so they have added elevators and escalators to their multilevel train stations and more "kneeling" buses. (The trains were always flat-floor trains.)

On a recent trip, I noticed that the area of Tokyo I was staying in, one with a lot of seniors, had added shuttle buses to its already ample supply of transit.

Even in England, riding the bus from Wells to my next destination, I noticed groups of seniors going out on excursions (at that time at least, they could ride local buses for free), groups of three or four men or women going shopping or out to a pub for lunch.

As I grow older, I would never live anyplace I couldn't have access to a good bus line or train.

I've noticed that the vast majority of senior residences are in the car-burbs. That seems incredibly stupid.

[My Good Babushka]

2. Yes, and not just the elderly

but people with other disabilities that leave them unable to drive. So many people do not have the chance to participate in our society. There are so many "buy-in" costs just to function in the day-to-day, and a big one is being able to drive and affording a car.