PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: OPTIONS TO MAINTAIN MOBILITY FOR LIFE

Social service agencies, transportation service providers, and governmental entitites are looking for ways to develop or improve transportation services to meet local travel needs of the aged. In order to understand how to improve transportation choices in a given community, it is important to examine the various organizational structures and types of transportation services currently available. It is also important to examine the types of improvements that would encourage older adults to use existing transportation services and how new services might be brought into the community. This paper describes how use of organization and management, consideration of older-consumer preferences, and improved service delivery can help a community provide a continuum of transportation services to help its elderly adults remain independent and socially integrated as their functional capabilities change and their driving becomes less frequent.