A Need to Improve Demand Response Services for Mobility of Seniors

Demographic projections indicate that the proportion of seniors will double within the next two decades. The phenomenon is attributable to the aging of the baby-boomer generation within an era of increased longevity. The expected increase in the senior population triggered several studies and mobility programs have attempted to address senior needs. Studies found that: (a) most seniors travel either as drivers or automobile passengers but still face mobility barriers especially as they reach the point of having to give up driving; (b) seniors may suffer from physical or medical problems but still seek active community lives; and (c) in the US, more than three quarters of all seniors live in lower density rural and suburban areas. These areas are not served as well by public transportation as urban areas are. There are paratransit services that could fill the gap in mobility needs of seniors, but ADA legislation expanded many of these services and a perception that they are for passengers with disabilities. Besides, paratransit has proven to be a very expensive way of providing alternative transportation. A survey of seniors reveals that: (a) seniors in general would prefer dial-a-ride more than any other public transportation mode; and (b) seniors with physical limitations would prefer dial-a-ride as much as, if not more than, any other means of transportation. These facts vis-a-vis the cost of paratransit operations call for the need to rethink and revamp dial-a-ride service, if society is to meet future mobility preferences of very large incoming cohorts of seniors