Transportation for the Elderly

Transportation for the Elderly: Changing Lifestyles, Changing Needs by Martin Wachs offers a groundbreaking analysis of how demographic shifts, health improvements, and evolving social patterns are reshaping mobility among older Americans. Drawing on extensive research in Los Angeles County, Wachs explores the intersections of lifestyle, residential location, and travel behavior to demonstrate that the transportation needs of the elderly are not monolithic but diverse and dynamic. By situating mobility within the broader context of economic, political, and psycho-social factors, the study reveals how independent living, improved education, and rising economic welfare among seniors have transformed expectations for travel and accessibility.

Organized into thematic chapters, the book examines current transportation services, from buses and taxis to specialized systems, and evaluates their effectiveness against projected demographic and residential changes. Wachs employs sophisticated forecasting techniques to predict future travel patterns, highlighting the growing role of suburbanization, automobiles, and innovative service models. His policy recommendations call for balancing guaranteed mobility with cost-effective, flexible services, emphasizing coordination through local transportation authorities and the potential of user-side subsidies. With its mix of empirical detail and policy vision, Transportation for the Elderly remains a vital resource for scholars, planners, and policymakers concerned with ensuring mobility equity for an aging population in a rapidly changing society.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1979.