Transportation needs of community-living older people in Sydney

Objectives: To assess difficulty of access to both private and public trans port experienced by older people living in the community in Sydney, to iden tify demographic and disability-related risk factors for poor access to tra nsport, and to gauge the extent to which transport needs were met by assist ance from relatives and friends. Method: An interview survey of a random sample of 620 people aged 75 years and older living in the community was conducted in the inner western suburb s of Sydney between August 1991 and September 1993. Questions covered demog raphic background, self-perceived disability, difficulty of access to trans port, and assistance given by relatives and friends. Results: Slightly over half of the respondents said that access to private transport was difficult or impossible for them; one-third said that using p ublic transport was difficult; 29% had difficulty with both forms of transp ort; yet only a quarter received help from relatives or friends. Fifteen pe r cent of all respondents were transport deprived in that they found access to both forms of transport difficult but did not receive any assistance. I n general, the severely disabled were not significantly at risk of transpor t deprivation. Conclusions: There was a sizeable group of older people living in the commu nity for whom access to transport posed considerable difficulties and who r eceived no transport assistance from relatives or friends. Further research is needed on the impact of transport deprivation and the extent to which t his is ameliorated by formal services.