In today’s western society, where self-reliance and personal autonomy is highly valued, driving as a means of mobility plays an important role in the lives of older adults, connecting them to family, friends, activities and the greater community. Even though the need to maintain mobility remains an important factor in maintaining general well-being, few drivers plan for the day when they are unable to drive and many find it a difficult prospect to consider or talk about. Further concerns arise from research findings that indicate older drivers lack information about available alternative transportation such as public transit. In a project conducted in collaboration with BC Transit, the Capital Regional District (CRD) Traffic Safety Commission, and Silver Threads (Victoria and Saanich branches), we examined the current modes of transportation used by a large sample of older adults in the Capital Regional District of British Columbia (n=275). We also investigated why older adults do not use public transportation. Some participants from this large sample volunteered to take part in a pilot project assessing the impact of participation in a group transit training program. The results indicated that the preferred form of transportation is a vehicle, either as an operator or as a passenger. Driving was used for a variety of purposes, including shopping, health-related appointments, social events, family events, and hobby-related activities. Although it appeared that most older drivers were not planning to quit driving within six months, many restricted their driving to daylight hours or minimized driving in poor weather conditions. In addition, although the reported general health of most participants was good and did not change over the course of the study, some drivers limited their driving due to health and mobility concerns. Our data indicated that approximately half of our participants used the bus as a form of transportation either minimally or not at all. Reasons for not using public transportation were that they found the bus inconvenient and it was not accessible for people with mobility problems. To assess the impact of group transit training, volunteers were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a control group that received no training, a group who received group transit training only, and a group that received group transit training and a free three-month bus pass which was specially encoded to collect data on the frequency for which the participants used the bus. The results of from the group transit training indicated that those who received travel training, regardless of whether or not they received a free bus pass, used the bus more frequently than those who did not. However, given the relatively small samples and the short duration of the study, no changes in miles driven per week, driving restrictions, primary mode of transportation or health status were seen. Based on the very encouraging results from this study, it appears that additional research is warranted to ascertain whether introducing group transit training in this way may facilitate changing transportation-related behaviors for older adults over a longer period of time. (Author/publisher)
Abstract