Current predictions show that the share of people aged 65 years or over in the total population (EU-27) is projected to increase from 17.5% in 2010 to 29.5% in 2060 (Figure 1). Similarly, the number of people aged 80 years or over is expected to grow from 4.8% in 2011 to 12% in 2060. In order to keep older people actively involved in their daily activities, it is vital that they are able to travel and have access to acceptable levels of mobility. These demographic changes produce considerable challenges for future transportation systems and place new and growing demands on transport systems. According to an OECD report (2001), on the whole, older people who drive will prefer to continue doing so for as long as possible and will also expect to have access to alternative transport modes that meet their individual needs, especially as they approach 80 years of age. Future transport systems and services will play an essential role in supporting independent, healthy ageing. The GOAL project (Growing Older, stAying mobiLe: Transport needs for an ageing society) aimed at comprising current knowledge and identifying research gaps in order to develop an action plan to fulfill the transport needs of an ageing society. This action plan is being developed through the interaction with different stakeholders, state-of-the-art reviews, identification of possible and relevant societal developments and alternatives to transport. To achieve these objectives, GOAL has organised different workshops where the main findings from state-of-theart reviews were presented to key stakeholders and interactive sessions were played to get their feedback. The resulting findings have been gathered in different deliverables available on the GOAL website (www. goal-project.eu). This action plan summarizes the key findings of the GOAL project with regard to each of its main activities dealing with transportation options and services for older people. We refer to the deliverables of the project for further relevant references to literature and to important websites and projects involving the mobility of an ageing population. The action plan also includes the valuable feedback of some GOAL supporting partners and stakeholders. (Author/publisher)
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