Older People’s Travel and its Relationship to their Health and Wellbeing

Abstract

As people age they tend to do more local journeys, shown by a lower mean trip length, from around 50 years onward. One reason for this is increased difficulty with mobility as people age; around one-third of those aged over 70 have mobility difficulties. Physiological changes in later life that have consequences for travel include deterioration of hearing and seeing, decreased skeletal muscles and reduced mobility of joints. Another reason for the decrease seen in many western countries is retirement from work, with many fewer trips made for commuting purposes. However, there are increases in shopping, personal business and leisure trips when commuting is reduced. That said, older people would still like to make more discretionary journeys in later life, especially to visit family and friends more often. A review of literature suggests how important mobility is for wellbeing through social interaction and being involved in activities outside the home.

Citation

Mackett, R. (2017), "Older People’s Travel and its Relationship to their Health and Wellbeing", Musselwhite, C. (Ed.) Transport, Travel and Later Life (Transport and Sustainability, Vol. 10), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 15-36. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2044-994120170000010001