Advocates for sustainability are more often than not advocates for public transportation. (And we like our bikes, too.) I know that I would like for our cities and towns to have robust alternative transportation systems, and many cities are moving that way, installing light rails and street cars and building city-wide bus systems. But, at the same time, we have to make sure that we are building a transportation system that meets varied needs. That is, are we building a transportation system that is able to meet the needs of its aging population?
The aging of America is dramatic. In 2011, nearly one out of eight people in the United States was 65 or older. By 2030, over 72 million people will be over 65. The majority of adults are aging in place in suburban neighborhoods where a car is necessary for access to the goods, services, and social contacts that support day-to-day existence and quality of life. Many policymakers and advocates however, assume that older people who face mobility problems or cease driving come to rely on conventional public transit services that these services thus needs to be enhanced. But here’s the thing: unless older adults use public transit now, they’re not likely to do when they stop driving. Which means that the car, the dreaded car, might actually have to be an answer.
But just because we can’t get rid of the car in this situation, does not mean we can’t apply some new tricks. Lyft and Uber, based out of San Francisco, are turning the personal vehicle into a pseudo taxi, ferrying 20-somethings all over the city. The same idea can and is being applied to help transport older adults around the suburbs. For example, programs like ITNAmerica are providing transportation to seniors based on the rideshare model. What’s neat about ITN is that you can volunteer wherever you are to give a senior a ride and the “ride credits” you earn can go towards rides for your adult parents.
ITN is a nice model in that it promotes volunteerism–and also because it’s a solution that realizes that even if public transportation isn’t a viable answer, we can have an answer to the challenge of travel for older adults that still promotes sustainability. It’s also a call for those who are running car sharing enterprises to think about expanding their customer base to include seniors. Even aging adults like to go out to the bars every once in a while…
