8/31/2017 Public transport 'failing' older people | Politics | The Guardian

Public transport 'failing' older people

Report says 1.45m of UKs over-65s struggle to get to a hospital, and common complaint is that transport is
not convenient and does not go where you want

Nadia Khomami
Friday 19 June 2015 09.07BST

Britains public transport system is failing older people, according to a new study.

A third of British pensioners never use public transport despite being eligible for a free bus
pass, and half use it less than once a month.

The most common complaint from those aged 65 and over was that public transport is not
convenient and does not go where you want, the report (pdf) by the International Longevity
Centre thinktank and charity Age UK found.

It revealed that 1.45 million over-65s in England struggled to get to a hospital, while 630,000
had diculty getting to their GPs surgery. Those in the worst health and with the lowest
incomes struggled the most to travel to health services.

The report follows a general election in which universal pensioner benets were a key issue.
David Cameron pledged that a Conservative government would protect benets including bus
passes, winter fuel allowance, prescriptions and free eye tests because Britains pensioners
deserve comfort, independence, companionship and health. The Tories were the only party
to commit to a rise in state pensions by at least 2.5% in their manifesto.

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But Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said the report should be a wake-up call
to the government because it showed the transport system was not meeting the needs of the
growing ageing population. She added: It is crucial that older people are able to get out and
about, especially as the evidence shows this helps them retain their health and independence
for longer. Against this context it is worrying that so many older people are struggling to reach
hospital, or sometimes even their local GP.

The bus pass is an absolute lifeline for many who would otherwise be stranded at home and is
utterly essential, but the truth is its not enough on its own to enable older people to stay
mobile. For example, better transport planning and more imaginative use of volunteers could
make a big dierence today; and in the medium term driverless cars and other technological
innovations could be real game changers.

The report found that only one in 100 people over 60 said they would stop driving because of
their age, but 43% said a health problem would make them stop getting behind the wheel.

It also found that those in rural areas had worse access to public transport, with 20% of people
in their early 70s using it weekly, compared with 38% of city and town dwellers. Of over-65s in
the countryside, 18% did not use public transport because there was none, compared with 2%
of urban pensioners.

ILC-UKs Helen Creighton said: Travel is essential for independent living and has been shown
to benet physical health and mental wellbeing in later life. Furthermore there is evidence that
maintaining older peoples mobility has substantial economic benets, with analysis by ILC-
UK estimating that concessionary fares will provide a net benet to the wider community of
19.4 billion in the years up to 2037.

This report, which highlights the travel diculties facing older people, emphasises the need
to adapt our transport system to meet the demands of our ageing society.

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