More seniors riding public transportation

Growth expected to continue

Vilas Bhuchar, May 31, 11.

The number of senior Americans using public transportation has increased by 40 percent since 2001, and a new AARP Public Policy Institute report indicates that number will continue to rise over the next 15 years, according to the New Urban Network.

The report, “How the Travel Patterns of Older Adults Are Changing,” predicts that older travelers will change the landscape of transportation in coming years, and concludes that transportation planners and policymakers must adapt to this shift. The number of Americans 65 and older is projected to rise by 60 percent in the next 15 years.

Among the findings, in Jana Lynott and Carlos Figueiredo’s analysis of the 2009 National Household Travel Survey, are these:

* Older adults comprise an increasing share of the nation’s travel.
* Although individuals are traveling less, particularly in private vehicles, public transportation use is up.
* The number of older non-drivers has grown by more than 1.1 million.

“Transit use by people age 65+, as a share of all the trips they take, increased by a remarkable 40 percent between 2001 and 2009,” the report observes, adding, “This is particularly significant in light of previous declines in public transportation use among persons in this age group.” In past decades, people had made less, not more, use of transit as they got older.

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