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AGING AMERICANS: STRANDED WITHOUT OPTIONS
FACT
SHEET
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More
than half of all non-drivers aged 65 and over stay at
home in a given day, often because they do not have
transportation options.
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By
the year 2025, 60 million Americans will be 65 or
older. Our transportation network must be prepared to
meet the needs of a rapidly changing America where 1 in
5 people will be age 65 or older.
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Because of a lack of transportation options, most
Americans rely on driving to get where they need to go.
Physical limitations from aging force many older
Americans to stop driving which often leaves them
isolated and without a means of transportation.
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Only
one half of Americans 65 or older have access to public
transportation to meet their daily needs. Older
Americans living in sparsely populated geographical
areas, including rural and small town America, are
disproportionately affected by isolation because they
have even fewer transportation options than seniors
living in denser geographic areas.
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Older persons who do not drive take an estimated 310
million trips per year on public transportation.
Research shows older people use public transportation
when it is available, and access to goods and services
reduces isolation among older people and increases their
mobility.
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The
U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that
maintaining current public transportation services would
require a 30 percent increase in current funding levels.
A Cambridge Systematics study estimated that improving
services would require more than twice the current
funding levels.
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Congress must pass long-term surface transportation
legislation with increased funding for public
transportation, and pedestrian and bicycle programs this
year. Recently, The Senate passed a bill with $318
billion in funding and the House passed a version with
$275 billion in funding. Both Houses of Congress are
expected to meet and work out a compromise between the
two bills in late April so a new funding level
agreement can be passed and signed into law.
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The
House and Senate bills both increase funding for the
Section 5310 Specialized Transportation Program for the
Elderly and Persons with Disabilities. Congress should
substantially increase funding to help meet the
growing mobility needs of older Americans. Further,
Congress should adopt the House position, preserving
Section 5310 as a free-standing program, and permitting
operating costs as an allowable expense.
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Both
the House and Senate bills create a new program, the New
Freedoms Initiative, which would provide transportation
for individuals with disabilities, beyond the
requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The House provides a separate program; the Senate
combines New Freedom Initiative with the Section 5310
program.
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Congress should support the new federal Safe Routes to
School program in order to fund pedestrian and bicycle
facility improvements at the House level of $1 billion
over 6 years.
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Federal, state and local governments must:
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Increase investment in public transportation to meet the
growing needs of America’s aging population.
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Work
with communities and transportation agencies to
integrate seniors into future planning to ensure
transportation infrastructure meets their needs.
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Introduce and support transportation policies that make
streets and surrounding areas safer for walking,
bicycling and driving.
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Preserve the ability of states and local governments to
spend federal transportation dollars on public
transportation, pedestrians and bicycle infrastructure.
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STPP
