Winter weather – an obstacle to older people’s activities?

In countries with winter weather characterised by low temperatures, snowfall and icy roads and pavements, getting out of the home to carry out everyday activities can be a challenge for many older people in cities and beyond. Inadequate clearance of snow and poor gritting of pavements prevent people with even slightly reduced motion capacity from going outdoors, while those who use a walking-stick or a rolling walker are even more vulnerable to the weather. How much does winter weather impact on the activity levels of older people, and what activities are affected? The empirical analysis in this paper is based on results from focus groups of participants carried out in five different communities in Norway and on data from the Norwegian National Travel Survey (NTS) of 2005. The study is concentrated on the daily activities of the groups, especially out-of-home activities, i.e. what these older people do, where their activities take place, with whom they interact, the types of transport mode they use, and the barriers they meet. Winter conditions are mentioned by all groups as one of the barriers they have to contend with. The NTS includes data on transport mode, travel purpose, distance, time-use, date for the interview and socio-demographic data. The results point to lower activity − measured in number of trips taken and kilometres travelled in winter (November–March) compared to summer (April–October) among the older groups. The oldest use the car less in the winter than in the summer, and have fewer trips to the shops and to friends and relatives.