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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| The role of education and training in helping older people to travel after the cessation of driving | | Author(s) | Charles Musselwhite |
| Journal title | International Journal of Education and Ageing, vol 1, no 2, December 2010 |
| Publisher | Association for Education & Ageing - AEA, Leicester, December 2010 |
| Pages | pp 197-212 |
| Source | Institute of Lifelong Learning, Leicester University, 128 Regent Road, Leicester, LE1 7PA. |
| Keywords | Driving capability ; Transport services ; Mobility ; Adult Education ; Social surveys. |
| Annotation | Older people face great difficulty when giving up driving. It is an issue that many people do not wish to contemplate or think about, yet the evidence suggests those who gradually reduce driving and replace it with alternative transport and travel cope better when finally giving up the car. Some of the anxiety about giving up the car is fear of the unknown and a lack of confidence in using alternative methods such as using the bus or walking. This paper looks at the potential role of education and training in helping older people gain confidence in using alternative transport modes when giving up the car. A wholly qualitative piece of research involved 54 older people from the South of England (31 had given up driving within the last year, and 24 were contemplating giving up driving within the next year) who took part in interviews and focus groups and completed travel diaries. The findings suggest that whereas there is access to formal travel information such as timetables, there is a dearth of information on more informal aspects of travelling, such as knowledge of the practicalities of using the bus including the ease of getting a seat or carrying shopping. Emotional and practical support for people giving up driving is also suggested as important. A "social travel group" could be set up, which would also act as a lobby for change in local transport and travel. and offer specific travel training or buddy support systems. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-121005208 A |
| Classmark | OPF: O: C4: GP: 3F |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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