[Report] Provincial Consultation on Seniors’ Transportation: Life Without Driving?

This report captures the highlights of the Provincial Consultation on Seniors’ Transportation: Life Without Driving? held on September 28, 2021. A total of 128 participants from across BC attended the three-hour event hosted by the Provincial Working Group on Seniors’ Transportation.

Shaping the Consultation is the basic premise that transportation is a key determinant of health, and therefore an important factor in seniors’ ability to live independently in community and thrive.

The Consultation set out to 1) to convene a diverse group of stakeholders with an interest in driving cessation and community-based transportation services for older adults, in order 2) to learn how the existing transportation system in BC supports or fails to support seniors’ ability to ‘hang up the keys’ and still get around to meet their daily needs; and 3) to propose solutions to the problems that exist.

The Consultation captured information on the meaning and experience of hanging up the keys, adaptions being made by seniors, family members and friends, as well as local communities, and priority actions that participants identified.

Key findings from breakout group discussions

• The process of hanging up the keys represents a significant transition in people’s lives, often marked by loss of independence and increased isolation and loneliness.

• Driving cessation was most often described as a stressful experience from both the seniors’ and caregivers’ perspective, however, some felt a sense of relief.

• Seniors are resilient and are adapting to this transition, often with family and friends, by finding new ways of getting around, accessing transportation and delivery services online, and moving to communities with greater transportation options.

• Communities are adapting by providing transportation services for seniors, but more services are needed, particularly in rural settings and for transportation to medical appointments.

• The top priority areas for action identified by participants were to 1) secure more funding for the community-based transportation sector, 2) advocate for better transportation services to medical appointments, and 3) take a coordinated ‘system-wide’ approach to seniors’ transportation across the province.

Next steps

Information gathered from the Consultation will inform Working Group activities and the Seniors on the Move project. Upcoming activities include the development of a transportation survey for older adults in BC, a toolkit for community dialogues on driving cessation and life after driving, and a short video as part of the ROVING project - short for “Raising Our Voices In support of non-ageist ways of Getting around.”

The Working Group is guided by the Community-Based Seniors Services Leadership Council and is supported by United Way British Columbia’s Healthy Aging staff; Seniors on the Move is led by BEST and funded by a Vancouver Foundation System Change Grant; and ROVING is funded by a New Horizons for Seniors Grant.

For more information about the Consultation, the Provincial Working Group on Seniors’ Transportation, or contents of this report, please contact Dr. Beverley Pitman at beverleyp@uwbc.ca