Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-v2ckm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-18T14:40:56.840Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Transport resources, mobility and unmet transport needs in old age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2012

RANDI HJORTHOL
RANDI HJORTHOL*
Affiliation:
Institute of Transport Economics, Oslo, Norway.
*
Address for correspondence: Randi Hjorthol, Institute of Transport Economics, Gaustadalléen 21, 0349 Oslo, Norway. E-mail: rh@toi.no
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Previous research has shown that mobility and the ability to leave the home are among the essential aspects of older people's quality of life. However, surveys of older people's access to transport resources and the impact of mobility on welfare and wellbeing are few. Many previous studies are based on small samples or qualitative data. The questions addressed in this paper are how transport resources are distributed among different groups of older people, to which degree the transport needs of these groups are met and how this is related to their wellbeing. The empirical analysis is based on a Norwegian nationwide survey among 4,723 respondents 65 years and older. The respondents were asked about their access to transport resources, both private and public, health problems connected to use of transport modes, their daily activities and mobility, their uncovered transport needs and the importance of different activities for their life quality. The analysis reveals great differences between groups; especially between men and women, but also between different age groups and by different place of living. The special transport offered by the local authorities is seen as insufficient, and with increasing age a great deal of older people have low mobility and an uncovered transport need that reduces their life quality.

Keywords

mobilityold agewelfarewellbeingsurvey
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 33 , Issue 7 , October 2013 , pp. 1190 - 1211
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allardt, E. 1975. Att Ha At Älska At Vara – Om välfärd i Norden [Having, Being and Loving – on Welfare in Scandinavia]. Argos förlag AB, Lund, Sweden.Google Scholar
Banister, D. and Bowling, A. 2003. Quality of life for the elderly: the transport dimension. Transport Policy, 11, 2, 105–15.Google Scholar
Bauer, M. J., Rottunda, S. and Adler, G. 2003. Older women and driving cessation. Qualitative Social Work, 2, 3, 309–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berleen, G. 2003. Bättre hälsa hos äldre [Better Health Among Older People]. Statens Folkhälsoinsitut, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Carr, M., Lund, T., Oxley, P. and Alexander, J. 1994. Cross-sector Benefits of Accessible Public Transport. TRL Project Report 39, Transport Research Laboratory, Crowthorne, UK.Google Scholar
Collia, D. V., Sharp, J., Giesbrecht, L. 2003. The 2001 national household travel survey: a look into the travel patterns of older Americans. Journal of Safety Research, 34, 4, 461–70.Google Scholar
Daatland, S. O. 2007. Age identifications. In Fernandez-Ballesteros, R. (ed.), Geropsychology. European Perspectives for an Ageing World. Hogrefe & Huber, Göttingen, Germany, 31–48.Google Scholar
Davy, J. A. 2007. Older people and transport: coping without a car. Ageing & Society, 27, 1, 49–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denstadli, J.-M. 2011. Reisevaner i syv europeiske land. En sammenstilling av reisevanedata. [Travel behaviour in seven European countries. A comparison of data]. Working document KT/1560/2011, Institute of Transport Economics, Oslo.Google Scholar
Dillen, J. 2005. Äldre personers resvanor och aktiviteter. Resultat från undersökningar med personer i alderen 65 yrs och äldre [Travel Behaviour and Activities of Older People. Results from Surveys]. Transek AB, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Eurostat 2009. Demographic Outlook. National Reports on the Demographic Developments in 2007, 2008 edition. Eurostat Methodological and Working Papers, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxemburg.Google Scholar
Farquhar, M. 1995. Elderly people's definitions of quality of life. Social Science & Medicine, 41, 10, 1439–46.Google Scholar
Fillenbaum, J. E., 1985. Screening the elderly: a brief instrumental activities of daily living measure. Journal of the American Geriatrics, 33, 10, 698–706.Google Scholar
Fonda, S. J., Wallace, R. B. and Herzog, A. R. 2001. Changes in driving patterns and worsening depressive symptoms among older adults. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 56B, 6, S343–51.Google Scholar
Freund, B. and Szinovacz, M. 2002. Effects on cognition of driving involvement among the oldest old: variations by gender and alternative transportation opportunities. The Gerontologist, 42, 5, 621–33.Google Scholar
Gabriel, Z. and Bowling, A. 2004. Quality of life from the perspective of older people. Ageing & Society, 24, 5, 675–91.Google Scholar
Hakamies-Blomqvist, L., Sirén, A. and Davidse, R. 2004. Older Drivers. A Review. VTI rapport 497A, Statens väg-och transportforskningsinstitut, Linköping, Sweden.Google Scholar
Hjorthol, R. 2008. Daily mobility of men and women – a barometer of gender equality? In Priya Uteng, T. and Cresswell, T. (eds), Gendered Mobilities. Ashgate, Aldershot, UK, 193–210.Google Scholar
Hjorthol, R., Levin, L. and Sirén, A. 2010. Mobility in different generations of older persons. The development of daily travel in different cohorts in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Journal of Transport Geography, 18, 5, 624–34.Google Scholar
Hjorthol, R., Longva, F., Skollerud, K. and Vågane, L. 2009. Transportløsninger for eldre i distriktene [Transport Supply for Older People in Rural Areas]. TØI-report 1043/2009, Institute of Transport Economics, Oslo.Google Scholar
Hjorthol, R. and Nordbakke, S. 2008. Bilens betydning for eldre gruppers velferd og livskvalitet [Impact of the Car on the Welfare and Quality of Life of Older People]. TØI-report 1000/2008, Institute of Transport Economics, Oslo.Google Scholar
Hjorthol, R., Nordbakke, S., Vågane, L., Levin, L., Sirén, A. and Ulleberg, P. 2011. Eldres mobilitet og velferd – utvikling, reisebehov og tiltak [Mobility and Welfare of Older People – Development, Travel Needs and Policy Formation]. TØI-report 1179/2011, Institute of Transport Economics, Oslo.Google Scholar
Krantz, L. G. 1999. Rörlighetens mångfald och förändring. Befolkningens dagliga resande i Sverige 1978 og 1996 [The Variation and Development of Mobility. Daily Travel in Sweden 1978 and 1996]. Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs Universitet, Göteborg, Sweden.Google Scholar
Magelund, L. 2001. Eldres Automobilitet [The Automobility of Older People]. Transportrådets nyhetsbrev nr. 4. 2001, Transportrådet, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Marottoli, R. A., Mendes, C. F., Glass, T. A. and Williams, C. S. 2000. Consequences of driving cessation: decreased out-of-home activity levels. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 55, 6, 334–40.Google Scholar
Marottoli, R. A., Mendes, C. F., Glass, T. A., Williams, C. S., Cooney, L. M., Berkman, L. F. and Tinetti, M. E. 1997. Driving cessation and increased depressive symptoms: prospective evidence from the New Haven EPESE. Journal of American Geriatrics Society, 45, 2, 202–6.Google Scholar
Mercado, R. and Páez, A. 2009. Determinants of distance traveled with a focus on the elderly: a multilevel analysis in the Hamilton CMA, Canada. Journal of Transport Geography, 17, 1, 65–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Metz, D. 2000. Mobility of older people and their quality of life. Transport Policy, 7, 2, 149–52.Google Scholar
Metz, D. 2005. Journey quality as the focus of future transport policy. Transport Policy, 12, 4, 353–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mokhtarian, P. L. and Salomon, I. 2001. How derived is the demand for travel? Some conceptual and measurement considerations. Transportation Research A 35, 8, 695–719.Google Scholar
Mollenkopf, H., Marcellini, F., Ruoppila, I., Széman, Z. and Tacken, M. 2005. Enhancing Mobility in Later Life. Personal Coping, Environmental Resources and Technical Support. The Out-of-home Mobility of Older Adults in Urban and Rural Regions of Five European Countries. ISO Press, Amsterdam, Netherlands.Google Scholar
Musselwhite, C. 2011. Successfully Giving up Driving for Older People. Centre for Transport and Society, British Society of Gerontology, International Longevity Centre – UK, London.Google Scholar
Musselwhite, C. and Haddad, H. 2010. Mobility, accessibility and quality of later life. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 11, 1, 25–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2001. Ageing and Transport. Mobility Needs and Safety Issues. OECD, Paris.Google Scholar
Oxley, P. 2000. Introductory report: Great Britain. In Rosenbloom, S. (ed.), Transport and Aging of the Population. Economic Research Centre, Paris, 211–39.Google Scholar
Rabbit, P., Carmichael, A., Jones, S. and Holland, C. 1996. When and Why Older People Give Up Driving. AA Foundation for Road Safety Research, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.Google Scholar
Rimmö, P.-A. and Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. 2002. Older drivers’ aberrant driving behaviour, impaired activity, and health as reasons for self-imposed driving limitations. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behavior 5, 1, 47–62.Google Scholar
Rosenbloom, S. 2000. Report by the chairperson. In Rosenbloom, S. (ed.), Transport and Aging of the Population. Economic Research Centre, Paris, 9–28.Google Scholar
Rosenbloom, S. 2004. Mobility of the elderly: good news and bad news. In Transportation in an Aging Society: A Decade of Experience. TRB, Washington DC, 3–21.Google Scholar
Schmöcker, J.-D., Quddus, M. A., Noland, R. B. and Bell, M. G. H. 2007. Mode choice of older and disabled people: a case study of shopping trips in London. Journal of Transport Geography, 16, 4, 257–67.Google Scholar
Schwanen, T., Dijst, M. and Dieleman, M. F. M. 2001. Leisure trips of senior citizens: determinants of modal choice. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 92, 3, 347–60.Google Scholar
Sirén, A. and Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. 2004. Private car as the grand equaliser? Demographic factors and mobility in Finnish men and women aged 65+. Transportation Research Part F, 7, 107–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sirén, A. and Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. 2006. Does gendered driving create gendered mobility? Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behavior, 9, 5, 374–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sirén, A., Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. and Lindeman, M. 2004. Driving cessation and health in older women. Journal of Applied Gerontology 23, 1, 58–69.Google Scholar
Statistics Norway 2011. Statisisk årbok 2011 [Statistic Yearbook]. Statistics Norway, Oslo.Google Scholar
Urry, J. 2000. Sociology Beyond Societies. Mobilities for the Twenty-first Century. Routledge, London.Google Scholar
Vågane, L., Brechan, I. and Hjorthol, R. 2011. Den nasjonale reisevaneundersøkelsen 2009 – nøkkelrapport [2009 Norwegian National Travel Survey – Key Results]. TØI rapport 1130/2011, Institute of Transport Economics, Oslo.Google Scholar
Vilhelmson, B. 1991. Travel activities of elderly persons in Sweden. Changing patterns and needs. In Norrbom, C.-E. and Ståhl, A. (eds), Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons. Transportation Studies Volume 13, Gordon and Breach, London, 1019–30.Google Scholar
Whelan, M., Langford, J., Oxley, J., Koppel, S. and Charlton, J. 2006. The Elderly and Mobility: A Review of the Literature. Monash University Accident Research Center, Melbourne.Google Scholar