Many Bay Area residents have chosen homes that work well for them—until they can't drive. Whether it is a temporary disability, such as an ankle in a cast, or failing eyesight which means giving up a driver's license for good, suddenly they are faced with barriers which never seemed to exist before. While a temporary disability may be surmounted with rides from friends and family, other alternatives are needed when the situation is permanent.
According to the Older Adults Transportation Study recently conducted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the number of people aged 65 and older is expected to dramatically increase over the next 20 years, and many of them will become non-drivers for the first time since their teens. As the region's population ages, "there are likely to be more and more older adults who find themselves unable to travel by their accustomed methods, for whom alternative means of travel are either unfamiliar or unavailable."
This situation has several causes. First, the most rapid growth in elderly residents will be in the oldest age groups—age 85 and older. These people are the most likely to have impairments which make it difficult to travel. Second, many older people now live in suburban areas, which may be more affordable but are not well served by transit. Third, even those who live near good transit service may have used it very little if they have been able to drive instead.
As age-related physical limitations make driving more difficult, many people choose to limit driving to daytime hours and avoid rush hours or heavily traveled routes, but they still consider themselves drivers. Even if they are willing to consider alternative ways to travel, viable options may not be readily available. Walking is one choice if health allows, but many communities are not pedestrian-friendly, a factor which also affects the ability to use wheelchairs and vehicles such as tricycles. Barriers to walking also affect access to transit.
In addition, a national survey showed that while only 7% of people under 74 could not use public transit because of health problems, by age 85 and over, almost 35% reported that health problems prevented use of public transit. For example, joint problems may make it difficult to board transit vehicles. For these people, paratransit services mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are often an appropriate alternative. However, paratransit is extremely expensive to provide, and the demand in the region is expected to climb by 63% by 2020. Supplemental services, such as subsidized taxi programs and volunteer rides programs, may become more important, but are often not well-coordinated and may be too limited in scope.
Because paratransit is provided by transit operators as a mandatory adjunct to regular transit service, its coverage is only as good as the transit coverage. In many suburban and rural parts of the Bay Area, both services are limited, although many seniors will be living in these areas. Maps prepared as part of the MTC study show that growth in the region's senior population is projected to be greatest in areas with little or no transit access. For this study, access was defined by the number of retail and service destinations available, travel time and frequency of service during the midday hours preferred by seniors for travel. Even if all the improvements identified in the 2002 Regional Transportation Plan are implemented, it is expected that only 19% of the region's seniors will have very good or excellent access to transit by 2025, while 46% will have only limited access or none at all.
The study included a number of public participation opportunities, including workshops held in Vallejo, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Novato. Key topics which emerged from these workshops included the need for better design of senior communities, pedestrian safety, transit access to shopping and medical care, increased funding, and innovative land use planning solutions.
At the second MTC Mobility Matters Conference held October 30, 2002, participants were presented with a proposed Regional Strategy for Senior Mobility, addressing transit service, paratransit and supplemental transportation, walking, medical transportation, driving, development and design, funding, and advocacy, awareness and planning activities. While most of the actions recommended in the strategy must be implemented by entities other than MTC, a supporting role for MTC at the regional level includes research, advocacy for needed legislation and funding, serving as a clearinghouse for ideas, and providing increased education and awareness about senior mobility needs.
A number of projects throughout the region are already addressing mobility for seniors. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority completed a study of community transportation needs in October 2000, including surveying seniors about their needs. In Alameda County the sales-tax measure passed in 2000, Measure B, included $148 million for special transportation for seniors and people with disabilities. Individual cities will use $48 million of this funding to provide service tailored to their local residents, and $20 million will be spent on coordination and closing gaps in service countywide.
In San Mateo County, the county Office of Aging and Adult Services conducted a transportation needs assessment of underserved communities. The assessment looked at seniors, people with disabilities, people who face barriers due to language or cultural differences, and those who are geographically isolated. MTC contributed information on low-income residents of the county. As part of the project, San Mateo County and SamTrans are jointly producing a Strategic Plan for Accessible Transportation Services, focusing on the 97% of the county's population who have chosen not to use transit. This plan will include improvements in transit service, programs for educating seniors when they give up driving, educating non-English speakers on transportation services, and new transportation services to fill identified gaps in the transportation network. The plan will be presented to county and SamTrans decision makers later this spring.
With good education and planning, non-driving seniors may swell the ranks of transit riders in the future. However, even with improved transit services, many other solutions are also needed to deal with frail or isolated elderly residents, from safer intersections for slow- walking pedestrians to volunteer programs to provide rides to evening activities or medical appointments. As each community works to address the needs of its own residents, coordination at the regional level by MTC will be an important component of effectively responding to the growing needs.
Leslie Stewart
For more information on the Older Adults Transportation Study: Connie Soper, MTC, 510-817-3270; csoper@mtc.ca.gov. The study is also available on the MTC Website, http://www.mtc.ca.gov
The MTC Paratransit Handbook is available on the MTC website, http://www.mtc.ca.gov. Individual transit districts also publish guides to paratransit and accessible transit options. MTC's Website provides links to information from many transit districts at http://www.mtc.ca.gov/publications/ada.htm.
The Transportation for Healthy Communities Collaborative, consisting of the Center for Third World Organizing, People United for a Better Oakland (PUEBLO), and the Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TALC), has issued a report, Roadblocks to Health: Transportation Barriers to Healthy Communities.
According to the report, which focused on Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara Counties, many low-income people of color have little or no access to health-care facilities by transit, although they are often transit-dependent. The coalition endorses the Lifeline Transit Network identified by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), but suggests expanding it to include access to community clinics as well as hospitals.
Like MTC's mobility study (see above), the coalition recommends changes in Medi-Cal transportation assistance. The report also recommends transportation policy changes to increase access to nutritious food and opportunities for physical activity. Copies of the report are available from TALC, 510-740-3150, or may be downloaded from their website, http://www.transcoalition.org.