Senior Mobility Outreach Project
Senior Mobility Outreach Project
Led by Detroit-based Transportation Riders United (TRU), in partnership with the Regional Elder Mobility Alliance (REMA), the Senior Mobility Outreach project was designed to meet three objectives: 1) Gather data about unmet senior mobility needs in four southeast Michigan communities; 2) Inform and engage seniors and community leaders on the benefits of enhancing safe senior mobility; and 3) Promote current and future transit options that can improve quality of life.
Data Driven Detroit designed the questionnaire used to gather data about unmet senior mobility needs. The questionnaire collected information from local seniors about their travel patterns, modes of transportation, use of and attitudes toward the public bus systems in Southeast Michigan, and satisfaction with their personal mobility in their community. D3 provided analyses of the questionnaire data over the 18 months of the project, which ended in December, 2011.
With the help of volunteers, interviews were conducted in St. Clair Shores, Waterford, Inkster, and to a lesser extent, Hamtramck, primarily at senior centers in these communities. Given the locations of the interview sites, participants in the study may have been more mobile and active than seniors in the communities in general. Indeed, the study found that the respondents led active lives, with the great majority indicating that they do grocery shopping and participate in social activities one or more times per week. Almost all the respondents in St. Clair Shores and Waterford were still driving and were not current bus riders, yet the majority of those who were not bus riders said they considered it somewhat or very likely that they will do so in the future.
Attitudes toward the bus system differed by community, quite likely reflecting differences in familiarity and experiences with the bus system. In these communities there was far more agreement than disagreement that the buses are easy to board and there would be no language or cultural barriers for them if they were to ride the bus. Other items showed wider variation by community.
This survey yielded a good deal of information about the travel patterns and attitudes of seniors in the metropolitan area. It also provided insights into issues pertaining to interviewing seniors.
For more information about the survey and the results, contact Kit Frohardt-Lane at kit@datadrivendetroit.org.
