IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/transr/v37y2017i4p488-506.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The unmet travel needs of the older population: a review of the literature

Author

Listed:
  • Carlo Luiu
  • Miles Tight
  • Michael Burrow

Abstract

Unmet travel needs can be defined as trips and activities that people need or would like to do more, but for a variety of reasons they are prevented from doing so. This paper provides a critical evaluation of the literature focused on unmet travel needs, with the aim of assessing the scope of existing studies on this topic and better understanding the full context of older people’s mobility. This narrative review identifies how travel needs in later life have been assessed, and the barriers that affect the ability of older people to fulfil these needs. Due to the heterogeneity of older people and differences in research approaches, the analysis of the literature is not conclusive in terms of identifying the real impact of the analysed variables and measures on unrealised mobility. Nevertheless, of the studies analysed, on average at least one-third of older people report unmet travel needs. This situation was found to worsen with age, and women were reported to be more affected than men. The pursuit of leisure, and in particular visiting friends and family, was found to be the activity most associated with unmet travel needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlo Luiu & Miles Tight & Michael Burrow, 2017. "The unmet travel needs of the older population: a review of the literature," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(4), pages 488-506, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:transr:v:37:y:2017:i:4:p:488-506
    DOI: 10.1080/01441647.2016.1252447
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01441647.2016.1252447
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/01441647.2016.1252447?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael RM Ward & Peter Somerville & Gary Bosworth, 2013. "‘Now without my car I don’t know what I’d do’: The transportation needs of older people in rural Lincolnshire," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 28(6), pages 553-566, September.
    2. Wretstrand, Anders & Svensson, Helena & Fristedt, Sofi & Falkmer, Torbjörn, 2009. "Older people and local public transit: Mobility effects of accessibility improvements in Sweden," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 2(2), pages 49-65.
    3. Trevor Hanson & Eric Hildebrand, 2011. "Can rural older drivers meet their needs without a car? Stated adaptation responses from a GPS travel diary survey," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(6), pages 975-992, November.
    4. Nordbakke, Susanne, 2013. "Capabilities for mobility among urban older women: barriers, strategies and options," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 166-174.
    5. Su, Fengming & Bell, Michael G.H., 2009. "Transport for older people: Characteristics and solutions," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 46-55.
    6. Metz, D. H., 2000. "Mobility of older people and their quality of life," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 149-152, April.
    7. Lars Böcker & Martin Dijst & Jan Prillwitz, 2013. "Impact of Everyday Weather on Individual Daily Travel Behaviours in Perspective: A Literature Review," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 71-91, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ravensbergen, Léa & Newbold, K Bruce & Ganann, Rebecca & Sinding, Christina, 2021. "‘Mobility work’: Older adults' experiences using public transportation," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    2. Eugène Loos & Maria Sourbati & Frauke Behrendt, 2020. "The Role of Mobility Digital Ecosystems for Age-Friendly Urban Public Transport: A Narrative Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Luiu, Carlo & Tight, Miles, 2021. "Travel difficulties and barriers during later life: Evidence from the National Travel Survey in England," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Jean Ryan, 2020. "Examining the Process of Modal Choice for Everyday Travel Among Older People," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Ravensbergen, Léa & Van Liefferinge, Mathilde & Isabella, Jimenez & Merrina, Zhang & El-Geneidy, Ahmed, 2022. "Accessibility by public transport for older adults: A systematic review," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    6. Kandt, Jens & Leak, Alistair, 2019. "Examining inclusive mobility through smartcard data: What shall we make of senior citizens' declining bus patronage in the West Midlands?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Abbasi, Sorath & Ko, Joonho & Min, Jaehong, 2021. "Measuring destination-based segregation through mobility patterns: Application of transport card data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Daniel Y. Mo & H. Y. Lam & Weikun Xu & G. T. S. Ho, 2020. "Design of Flexible Vehicle Scheduling Systems for Sustainable Paratransit Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-18, July.
    9. Mitra, Suman & Yao, Mingqi & Ritchie, Stephen G., 2021. "Gender differences in elderly mobility in the United States," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 203-226.
    10. Carlo Luiu & Miles Tight & Michael Burrow, 2018. "Factors Preventing the Use of Alternative Transport Modes to the Car in Later Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-21, June.
    11. Ma, Jingwen & Zhao, Shengchuan & Li, Wu & Liu, Meng & Luo, Huanhuan, 2022. "Heterogeneity in seniors' unmet walking needs: A latent class analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    12. Ralph, Kelcie & Morris, Eric A. & Kwon, Jaekyeong, 2022. "Disability, access to out-of-home activities, and subjective well-being," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 209-227.
    13. Wang, Xize, 2022. "Impact of health on driving for America's older adults: A nationwide, longitudinal study," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 69-79.
    14. Misra, Aditi & Shirgaokar, Manish & Weinstein Agrawal, Asha & Dobbs, Bonnie & Wachs, Martin, 2022. "How older adults use Ride-hailing booking technology in California," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 11-30.
    15. Deka, Devajyoti, 2022. "Trip deprivation among older adults in the context of the capability approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    16. Wang, Xize, 2022. "Impact of Health on Driving for America's Older Adults: A Nationwide, Longitudinal Study," SocArXiv h5scf, Center for Open Science.
    17. He, Sylvia Y. & Cheung, Yannie H.Y. & Tao, Sui, 2018. "Travel mobility and social participation among older people in a transit metropolis: A socio-spatial-temporal perspective," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 608-626.
    18. Willberg, Elias & Fink, Christoph & Toivonen, Tuuli, 2023. "The 15-minute city for all? – Measuring individual and temporal variations in walking accessibility," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carlo Luiu & Miles Tight & Michael Burrow, 2018. "Factors Preventing the Use of Alternative Transport Modes to the Car in Later Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Ryan, Jean & Wretstrand, Anders & Schmidt, Steven M., 2015. "Exploring public transport as an element of older persons' mobility: A Capability Approach perspective," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 105-114.
    3. Luiu, Carlo & Tight, Miles, 2021. "Travel difficulties and barriers during later life: Evidence from the National Travel Survey in England," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Johnson, Rebecca & Shaw, Jon & Berding, Jörn & Gather, Matthias & Rebstock, Markus, 2017. "European national government approaches to older people's transport system needs," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 17-27.
    5. Jean Ryan, 2020. "Examining the Process of Modal Choice for Everyday Travel Among Older People," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-19, January.
    6. Ranković Plazinić, Biljana & Jović, Jadranka, 2018. "Mobility and transport potential of elderly in differently accessible rural areas," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 169-180.
    7. Susanne T. Dale Nordbakke, 2019. "Mobility, Out-of-Home Activity Participation and Needs Fulfilment in Later Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Berg, Jessica & Levin, Lena & Abramsson, Marianne & Hagberg, Jan-Erik, 2014. "Mobility in the transition to retirement – the intertwining of transportation and everyday projects," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 48-54.
    9. Hansson, Lisa & Holmgren, Johan, 2018. "Cost effect of reorganising – A study of special transport services," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 453-459.
    10. Catherine Sundling & Mats E. Nilsson & Sara Hellqvist & Leslie R. Pendrill & Ragne Emardson & Birgitta Berglund, 2016. "Travel behaviour change in old age: the role of critical incidents in public transport," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 75-83, March.
    11. Ma, Jingwen & Zhao, Shengchuan & Li, Wu & Liu, Meng & Luo, Huanhuan, 2022. "Heterogeneity in seniors' unmet walking needs: A latent class analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    12. Nur Hasna Che Had & Khadijah Alavi & Noremy Md Akhir & Irina Riyanti Muhammad Nur & Muhammad Shakir Zufayri Shuhaimi & Hui Foh Foong, 2023. "A Scoping Review of the Factor Associated with Older Adults’ Mobility Barriers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-19, February.
    13. Kersting, Moritz & Kallbach, Felina & Schlüter, Jan Christian, 2021. "For the young and old alike – An analysis of the determinants of seniors’ satisfaction with the true door-to-door DRT system EcoBus in rural Germany," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    14. Vladimir Dragičević & Miloš Kopić & Darinka Golubović Matić & Aleksandar Grujičić, 2022. "Urban Planning Impact on Mobility and Residential Satisfaction of Older People in Novi Sad," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-15, February.
    15. Marie Geraldine Herrmann-Lunecke & Cristhian Figueroa-Martínez & Francisca Parra Huerta & Rodrigo Mora, 2022. "The Disabling City: Older Persons Walking in Central Neighbourhoods of Santiago de Chile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-19, September.
    16. Gu, Tianqi & Kim, Inhi & Currie, Graham, 2019. "To be or not to be dockless: Empirical analysis of dockless bikeshare development in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 122-147.
    17. Su, Rongxiang & Xiao, Jingyi & McBride, Elizabeth C. & Goulias, Konstadinos G., 2021. "Understanding senior's daily mobility patterns in California using human mobility motifs," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    18. Wessel, Jan, 2020. "Using weather forecasts to forecast whether bikes are used," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 537-559.
    19. Rania Wasfi & Ahmed El-Geneidy & David Levinson, 2007. "The Transportation Needs of Seniors," Working Papers 000028, University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group.
    20. Vanessa Zorrilla-Muñoz & María Silveria Agulló-Tomás & Carmen Rodríguez-Blázquez & Alba Ayala & Gloria Fernandez-Mayoralas & Maria João Forjaz, 2022. "Ageing Perception as a Key Predictor of Self-Rated Health by Rural Older People—A Study with Gender and Inclusive Perspectives," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-13, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:transr:v:37:y:2017:i:4:p:488-506. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/TTRV20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.