A Challenge for the Future: The Provision of Transportation for Calgary’s Elderly and Disabled

Using the City of Calgary as an example, this paper discusses the provision of special need transportation services now and in the future. It describes how independence is correlated with self-initiative and the determination to strive for a better life. In today’s society, independence is closely linked to mobility – the ability to physically reach your destination. It is therefore not surprising that for many disabled and elderly individuals, the availability of special needs transportation is of vital importance and its absence is a major barrier to independence. Projections for the future indicate that the demand for special transportation services in North America will dramatically increase. The basis for this projection is threefold: (1) an aging population; (2) advancing medical technologies; and (3) deinstitutionalization and reduced infant mortality among handicapped newborns. The question then becomes, how are transportation providers going to be able to meet future transportation demands? It would be naive, not to acknowledge that the funding necessary for the provision of special transportation services is closely linked to legal and political goals.