A Transportation Demonstration Project for Seniors: An Overview of Its Systems, Technology and Viability

This paper describes how the transportation needs of senior citizens have been identified in many studies. While some seniors are able to sustain mobility, many lack access to suitable transportation. Those seniors who maintain their own homes and live self-sufficiently are especially difficult if they are not close to an existing bus route or if they do not operate their own vehicles. Sometimes, even those near bus routes find normal public transit to strenuous. During cold weather these seniors are liable to become isolated from the community and travel only when absolutely necessary by taxicabs at a relatively high cost. Safe movement is a concern of senior citizens whose health has become less robust with age. The objectives of this paper were the: (1) provision of increased accessibility to the community for seniors by means of transportation; (2) development of an innovative transportation system suitable for seniors by means of progressive methods of system operation and the use of a new type of vehicle, the Orion II; (3) operation of the project through two community groups which are sensitive to, and provide for the participation of, seniors in the development of the project; and (4) development of a transportation system that is economical in its operation.