Transportation planners around the country are working to ensure the mobility of the rapidly increasing population of older people. Not only is the size of the senior population expected to grow rapidly, the most rapid growth is expected to occur in the oldest age groups, which have the most severe mobility problems. To make matters worse, more and more older people will be living in places that are poorly served by public transportation. Even in places where transit service is good, many seniors do not use it because they have little familiarity with transit and are used to relying on personal automobiles as the most convenient mode of travel.

Meeting these challenges will involve action by all levels of government and community organizations in order to:

• Help older people drive as safely as long as possible.
• Ensure that older drivers stop or curtail their driving when they are no longer safe.
• Make transit services available and attractive to older people.
• Expand transit services and develop new kinds of public transportation.
• Create communities where older people can walk safely and access transit.

Nelson\Nygaard is working with numerous government agencies and non-profit organizations on solutions to the challenge of mobility by older people. Three recent reports stem from work for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the transportation planning agency for the San Francisco Bay Area, and a fourth was commissioned by AARP.

The Older Adults Transportation Study (OATS) charts a regional strategy for senior mobility, with concrete steps that all levels of government and community agencies can take. The report includes data and analysis about the growth in the numbers of older people, where they will live, and what kinds of transportation they need. To download the report from MTC's web site, click here.

The Senior Mobility Toolkit, an outgrowth of the OATS project, documents examples of innovative efforts to promote senior mobility with examples from the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere. Examples include: programs to promote pedestrian safety, programs to help older people become comfortable using transit, shuttles and circulators, helping older people access and use public transportation, using volunteers effectively, private financing, increasing the affordability and availability of taxicabs, and housing accessibility modifications. To download the report from MTC's web site, click here.

With MTC's support, Nelson\Nygaard helped the California Commission on Aging (CCOA) develop recommendations for the State of California to help keep older people mobile. The full Statement of Findings on Senior Related Transportation Issues is posted on the CCOA's web site. To view the document, click here.

The AARP Public Policy Institute commissioned Nelson\Nygaard to prepare an analysis of The Impact of Federal Programs on Transportation for Older Adults. The resulting report examines FTA grant programs, Medicaid, Medicare, the Older Americans Act Title III program, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, explores how they affect older adult mobility and recommends changes. To download the report click here.

For more information about these reports contact David Koffman.