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Transportation for the very old is complicated at best and virtually unavailable for many. Even for urban dwellers with ready access to public transportation, getting around is no longer easy due to mobility and other health-related issues. Transportation is an even bigger issue for suburban and rural elderly, particularly those in their mid- eighties or older who are no longer able to or allowed to drive. Outlying communities are primarily underserved by public transportation, and even where it is available, it cannot be easily accessed without using a car. Taxis and private car services are too expensive for most, and their children and other local family members are often too busy dealing with the complexities of their own lives and engaged with their jobs and businesses to offer their parents regular rides for errands, doctor appointments, recreational activities or any other transportation needs.
The loss of a driver’s license is a loss of independence and is traumatic for those who have for many years had the ability to go anywhere at any time without relying on others. While conducting extended field research into the lives of the very old in a semi-rural community, I extensively interacted with a group of individuals who were dealing with this issue. As an aspiring cultural anthropologist, I wanted to understand how this group had strategized to overcome their transportation and mobility issues (read my book Thursdays With Margaret, available online on Amazon, for an accounting of my intimate friendship with a very special 94-year-old friend Margaret Parks to see how she addressed this and other issues of aging in place). This is a community of retired working and middle-class elderly with modest means and with extremely limited public transportation facilities available to them, like many other similar communities across the country. The very limited and irregular bus service is accessible to only a small number of those who live within easy walking distance of the stops. Taxis and private car services are beyond the means of most, and many do not have immediate family in the area.
How do they cope then? In this community, like others in smaller towns, regular lunches are provided by the town’s Senior Service Center, a friendly place where they can also socialize with other local seniors and listen to informative talks on various topics; the center offers transportation to and from their homes and also occasional trips to the town’s shopping mall. Although this type of facility is available in many small towns, it is often understaffed and underfunded.
The reality is that most of the very old, unless they have the means or the desire to live in assisted care communities or family compounds, end up relying on the goodwill of others to accommodate their transportation needs. In the community I studied, the Senior Center has a Meals on Wheels program, using community volunteers, which delivers hot dinners several nights a week, but most groceries have to be provided by friendly neighbors. Meals on Wheels are available in many communities. Doctor appointments have to be scheduled to coincide with the availability of family or friendly neighbors. Often times groceries are “stockpiled” when remote family members are able to visit.
Being informed in advance as to what to expect if you have decided to age in place during your final years may make the transition easier or allow you to reconsider other options. Knowing what to expect allows possible planning approaches to the difficulties you may encounter by choosing to remain in your home. Then, looking at it objectively, you will have to decide if this option is really what you want, given what it involves, or if there may be other alternatives such as assisted care or moving in with family worth considering.
